“Well, you are kind of cute,” Shaye teased.
“Look who’s talking.” Matt kissed her playfully.
“Is that why you didn’t tell me what your dad does? You were afraid I wouldn’t like you for yourself?” Shaye saw the truth in his eyes before he could answer.
“I didn’t want to be second-guessing why you said you would go out with me.”
“What do you mean? You wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Shaye pointed out, laughing.
Her laughter was deep and rich, and Matt decided he would have to make an effort to hear it more often. “I would hate to think where I would be if I had.”
“Probably dating some cute blonde who actually walks around with dry hair.”
“Doesn’t sound very appealing.” Matt ran his hand through her hair, letting his fingers tangle in its thickness as he leaned closer. He hesitated a moment before their lips met, watching her eyelids flutter when his mouth was just a whisper from hers.
He kissed her softly, and a spark, warm and bright, snapped inside of him. He wondered how he had survived so long without this. Without her.
Matt pulled back again. The word forever hovered on the edge of his mind as he studied Shaye, her eyes clouded and her cheeks flushed. He stood abruptly, offering a hand to her. “We had better get back.”
Shaye nodded and let him pull her up. Something was different, but she wasn’t sure what it was. No one had ever made her feel this way, not even Chase. As she cleaned up their lunch, she watched Matt fold the blanket. When he looked up and saw her staring, he turned away, but not before she read the confusion in his eyes. She wondered if he sensed the change between them as strongly as she had. Pushing the thought aside, she mounted her horse and watched Matt do the same.
They rode quickly and quietly on the way home, knowing their horses were anxious for their warm stalls. After cooling down their horses, they started feeding and were just finishing up when Matt’s parents rode up.
Matt helped his parents tend to their horses, and after they finished, Shaye took a relaxing shower and even took the time to put on a little makeup. Dressed in jeans and a ribbed green sweater, she towel-dried her hair and went in search of Matt. She found him in the living room talking with his brother.
Plans were made to go to dinner and a movie since their parents had another engagement that evening. The brightly decorated Mexican restaurant was crowded when they arrived, and music played in the background. When they walked in, several people from a large table waved at Matt to join them.
“They’re some friends from high school,” Matt told Shaye, taking her hand to lead her across the busy dining area.
Greetings were exchanged, and Shaye was being introduced when the rest of their group arrived. The waiter moved an extra table over so they could all sit with Matt’s friends. Shaye tried to ignore the fact that most of the girls in the group fit the Barbie-doll description perfectly.
Shaye sat between Matt and Roger, directly across from Pete. Throughout dinner, the girls at the other end of the table kept eyeing her. Shaye had only to glance in their direction to find at least one of them watching her. She could only assume they were wondering why Matt would go out with her. If that wasn’t bad enough, Pete kept staring at her. Just when Shaye thought she couldn’t feel any more self-conscious, her phone rang.
Chapter Nine
The lull in the conversation could not have come at a worse time. Had everyone been talking and laughing, Shaye could have ignored the ringing of her cellular phone. Instead, everyone was looking around trying to find the source of the noise.
Shaye reached into her coat pocket and flipped the phone open. “Hello?”
“Can you talk?” Pratt’s voice came over the line.
“No,” Shaye said casually. “Why?”
“We just need to talk. Call me back when you have some time.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” Shaye closed the conversation, then slipped the phone back in her pocket. She picked up her fork, relieved that the chatter around her started again.
“Who was that?” Matt asked.
“Just one of my friends from back home. When she couldn’t reach me, she got worried.” Shaye shrugged.
Matt nodded and resumed his conversation with Charlie.
Shaye felt flustered for the rest of the night. She wanted to call Pratt back, but she knew she had to wait until she was completely alone. When Matt’s friends joined them for the movie, the evening just got worse.
Even though she was sitting next to Matt, Shaye felt like a fifth wheel. Everyone else was having a good time talking about their old high school friends, and even Pete and Roger fit right in with the group, joking and laughing. But Shaye sat quietly as the conversation flowed around her.
When they finally got back to the house, Shaye quickly excused herself to her room. She got ready for bed, then curled up on the love seat in her room wearing the boxer shorts and baggy T-shirt she usually slept in. Once she dialed, the phone only rang once.
“It’s about time,” Pratt said impatiently. “Secure your phone.”
Shaye turned the tiny key on the back of her phone and listened to the line distort and then clear again. “What’s going on?”
“The guy you’re dating—is it William Barnett or Matthew Whitmore?”
“Matt Whitmore,” Shaye told him.
“Great,” Pratt muttered. “Look, I checked out both of these guys and their families just to be safe.”
“And?” Shaye asked, sensing he didn’t have good news for her.
“Matt has a younger brother.”
“I know. Charlie.”
“In Charlie’s dorm alone, there are at least ten guys from Arizona and three from the Denver area.”
Shaye opened her mouth to tell him about Pete, but the words just wouldn’t come. She took a deep breath and forced herself to speak. “I’ll only be here until Sunday.”
“Just be careful with what you say around Charlie.”
“One more thing.” Shaye hesitated, but knew she had to bring it up. “Matt is LDS. He saw me at church last Sunday.”
“I’m not even going to ask what you were doing at church.” Pratt sighed. “It shouldn’t be a problem, though. We have a meeting scheduled with the president of your church in a couple of weeks.”
“Good.” Shaye exhaled in relief.
“I’ll be in touch.”
Shaye stared at the phone for a moment, and then put it safely back in her coat. She looked out the window into the darkness, grateful she didn’t see anything unusual. She jumped when she heard a knock at her door.
“Who is it?” Shaye asked tentatively.
“It’s me,” Matt said through the door.
Shaye opened the door and saw that he had changed into long shorts and an old T-shirt.
“Are you okay?” Matt leaned against the door frame.
Shaye hesitated and then shrugged. “I’m just tired.”
“I’m sorry about tonight. I wasn’t even thinking about how you don’t like crowds.” Matt reached for her hand and pulled her close. He rested his chin on top of her head as her arms wrapped around him and she returned his hug. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“Thanks,” Shaye whispered, wishing that she really could.
They stood there holding each other, and Shaye wondered how long their time together could last. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and she tried desperately to keep them back.
Matt stepped back and brushed away her tears. “You miss your dad?”
Shaye latched onto the excuse and nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“I know it must be hard to be so far from home,” Matt said sympathetically. “Everyone else has gone up to bed. Do you want to go into the living room and watch some TV?”
“Sure,” Shaye agreed, knowing that sleep would not come easily tonight.
Matt walked with her into the living room and started flipping through the ch
annels. They eventually found a movie worth watching, and Matt sat down and stretched his legs, resting them on an ottoman. Shaye curled up next to him on the couch, pulling her feet up underneath her. With his arm around her shoulders, Shaye leaned her head against him, feeling safe for the moment.
A scream from an old Alfred Hitchcock movie startled Shaye awake. She wasn’t sure when she had drifted off to sleep, but she vaguely remembered the end of the movie she and Matt had been watching. She shifted to find herself embraced by Matt’s bare arms. He was holding her close to his chest, like a small child would hold a teddy bear. She could feel his rhythmic breathing on the back of her neck as his chest rose and fell against her. She listened for any indications that anyone else was awake but heard none.
The darkness of night was kept away only by the lamp beside the couch and the glow from the television screen. Shaye tried to slip out of Matt’s arms, but, to her surprise, he tightened his grip around her. She looked up and saw him staring down at her.
“I’m sorry. I must have drifted off,” Shaye said, her voice still soft from sleep.
“Me too.” Matt continued to watch her intensely. “You really are beautiful.”
“Do you need to put in contacts or something?” Shaye smiled slightly, taken aback by the compliment.
Matt shook his head, stroking the side of her cheek with his finger. Her heart jumped into her throat, and Shaye closed her eyes so as not to reveal the emotions washing over her. Already she had come to care far too much for Matt, which made her entirely too vulnerable.
When another scream echoed from the television, Matt fumbled for the remote control and clicked off the television. “My mom loves these old movies, but I never could get through this one with her.”
Shaye opened her eyes and studied him. His blonde hair was tousled and he needed a shave.
“You should get to bed.” Matt pressed his lips to the top of her head before shifting away from her. He stood up, offering Shaye his hand to pull her up beside him.
“What time is it, anyway?”
Matt glanced at his watch. “Almost one.”
“I can’t remember the last time I stayed up this late.” Groggily, Shaye ran a hand through her hair. When they reached the stairs, she leaned over and kissed Matt on the cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Shaye turned down the hall toward the guest room, unaware that Matt watched her until she disappeared out of sight.
* * *
Despite being up late the night before, Shaye was awake as soon as the sunlight began streaming through her window. Still dressed in the shorts and T-shirt she had slept in, she pulled a sweatshirt over her makeshift pajamas and headed toward the kitchen.
She stopped in the living room to turn off the light Matt had left on the night before, startled to find him stretched out on the couch. The newspaper was scattered over the coffee table next to a half-eaten package of pastries.
He glanced up from the comic section and smiled. “Good morning.”
“I didn’t think you would be up yet,” Shaye told him, eyeing the pastries on the table in front of him.
“Couldn’t sleep.” Matt motioned toward the kitchen. “There’s milk and juice in the fridge. Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” Shaye went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. She grinned when she sat down next to him on the couch and he moved the pastries closer to her. “Can I have the sports section?”
Matt handed it to her before moving on to glance at the local news. They ate in companionable silence for several minutes before he spoke again. “It looks nice outside. Do you want to go for a run?”
“How far do you usually run?”
“About five miles,” he told her. “Is that too far?”
Shaye shook her head. “I’m going to change.”
Matt watched her leave the room, her slender legs still tan from the summer. He ran a hand over the couch where she had been just moments before, the couch where he had held her in his arms just hours before, warm and comfortable. He tiptoed upstairs to change, trying not to dwell on how quickly and completely Shaye had woven her way into his life. When he returned, he found Shaye wearing shorts and a sweatshirt, already stretching for their run.
They slipped outside before anyone woke up. Matt ran at an easy pace, leading Shaye down the streets he had explored as a child. After they had run over four miles, Matt showed her a path through the woods, which ended at the stables behind his house.
When they stopped, Shaye put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. They stretched for a moment before going into the barn. The horses were all standing with their heads out of their stalls as they waited for their breakfast. They were halfway through feeding when Matt’s mom came in.
“I was wondering where you two were,” Katherine said as Matt dropped another leaf of hay into a stall.
“We went for a run,” Matt told her. “What’s everyone else doing today?”
“Amy and Charlie just left. They went into D.C. to show Pete and Roger around.” Katherine gazed at Shaye, who was stroking Nugget’s velvety nose. “Your dad and I thought you two might want to join us for a ride up to the falls.”
“Sounds great.” Matt smiled as Shaye nodded in agreement.
The threesome returned to the house to find Jim sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper spread in front of him. After eating breakfast, Katherine packed a lunch for them, and they headed out for their ride.
The day was unseasonably warm, though slightly overcast. They rode to a clearing across from the falls, the mist of which was visible from where they sat, and then watched the water cascading down over the rock face.
“This is really pretty,” Shaye said wistfully, relaxing on the blanket Matt and his father had spread out.
“We try to ride down here every month or two,” Katherine told her. “It helps us keep life in perspective.”
“I imagine Jim’s profession can make that difficult at times,” Shaye commented.
“The gospel helps a lot,” Jim told her, digging into the food. “Honestly, I don’t know how some of my colleagues can handle this job without having the benefit of divine inspiration.”
Shaye listened, amazed at the conversations that unfolded between her and Matt and his parents. They talked about everything: religion, politics, school, sports. She found herself forgetting that they were having lunch with Matt’s parents and not just another couple. They were warm and generous, thoughtfully including her in the conversation without being intrusive. She knew that Matt led a charmed life, and she was beginning to realize how much she had underestimated his blessings.
Red and orange clouds were streaking across the western sky when the foursome emerged from the woods near the stable. By the time they returned to the house, it was already six o’clock. A message from Charlie on the answering machine told them that everyone else was going out in Georgetown and would be back late, so plans were made to eat dinner at home followed by relaxing in the jacuzzi.
Shaye took a quick shower to rinse off the smell of horses, then changed into shorts and a polo shirt. The doorbell rang as she stepped out of her room, and she rounded the corner into the entryway to find Matt embracing a tall, stunning blonde.
“I heard you were home. Why didn’t you call me?” the woman pouted. “We haven’t gone out together in months.”
Shaye blinked hard and took a step back. Before she could disappear back down the hall, the blonde noticed her.
“So who’s this?” Accusation laced her voice, though her smile never faltered.
“Shaye! There you are,” Matt said a little too brightly. He stepped out of the embrace, turning to face her. “I want you to meet someone.”
Shaye forced herself to walk forward, her back straight and her movements stiff.
“Chelsey, this is Shaye Kendall. Shaye, this is Chelsey Brandenburg. We went to high school together,” Matt said.
Before either of them could respond to th
e introduction, Jim walked downstairs. “Chelsey, how good to see you again.”
“Hello, Senator.” Chelsey smiled, revealing perfect teeth. “You look like you’re enjoying a weekend off.”
“As much as possible.” Jim laughed. “We were just going to throw some steaks on the grill for dinner. You’re welcome to join us.”
Chelsey glanced at Shaye and then tossed her flowing blonde mane behind her shoulder. “Why, I’d love to stay for dinner.”
Matt smiled politely as Jim ushered them all into the living room. Chelsey sat down in the middle of the couch, and Matt took a safe position in a nearby chair.
“I’d better get dinner started. Katherine looked like she was about to fall asleep in the tub upstairs,” Jim told them as he left the room
“I’ll help you,” Shaye offered quickly. “I’m sure Matt and Chelsey have a lot of catching up to do.”
Before Matt could respond, Shaye followed Jim into the kitchen. He began pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator, insisting to Shaye that he could manage by himself if she wanted to visit with Matt and Chelsey. Shaye forced a smile and began making a salad. When Jim went outside to use the grill, she took a deep breath and leaned against the counter to steady herself.
She could hear the cheerful voices coming from the living room, and she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her confusion. She acknowledged that she had begun thinking of herself as Matt’s girlfriend, yet such a confirmation had never been spoken between them. Their relationship had just evolved from friendship into something more, but they had never defined what “more” meant.
In the comfort of the kitchen, Shaye managed to compose herself as she fell into the easy routine of preparing a meal. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed spending time in the kitchen and the enjoyment that cooking gave her. By the time Katherine walked in fifteen minutes later, the salad was prepared and Shaye was pulling garlic toast out of the oven.
“It looks like you’ve been busy,” Katherine said as she located a bread basket and began placing the bread inside. “This smells wonderful.”
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