Back to the Farm Ch. 03

Smiling, he turned around. "It didn't take long to find you, mind--you were screaming blue murder. You must have gone in the barn to look for Charlie and the door had shut somehow. And then we couldn't get the bloody door open again. There'd been loads of rain and the wood had swollen." Matt handed her the refilled glass then settled back beside her on the hearthrug. "Charlie had to take it off its hinges in the end."

"Oh." Sipping at the whiskey, Melissa stared into the fire in silence for a while, thinking hard. Tiny fragments of memory began to surface. She recalled tugging at a door and not being able to open it. She could remember the total, oppressive darkness. Feeling her way around the boards, trying to find a way out, her face and fingers becoming entangled in sticky webs. "I sort of remember," she said at last, taking another long pull from the glass. "You--you pulled a huge spider out of my hair."

It was Matt's turn to frown. "Did I?" Then his face brightened. "Oh, yes, I did, didn't I? Big spindly-legged thing with an incredibly fat body."

She shuddered. "Yuk. No wonder I'm scared of the dark." Then she caught Matt's triumphant glance and groaned. "Yes, all right. I'm still scared of the dark. Happy now?" She lifted the glass and was astonished to find it half-empty again. "Oh."

Matt grinned. "Keep drinking. It's good to see you relax a bit. More like the Lissy I used to know."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Melissa found she couldn't look at him once she'd asked the question, instead turning her head to stare at the wood burner. It was oddly difficult to focus on the flames.

There was a pause. "And why would I want to do that?"

She took another sip, actually starting to enjoy the Scotch. "I don't know. Maybe you want to have your wicked way with me."

To her chagrin, Matt burst out laughing. "Lissy, if I wanted to have my wicked way with you, I wouldn't need to get you drunk first."

"Oh?" She felt hot colour surge into her cheeks. "You're a bit bloody sure of yourself aren't you? What makes you think I'd be that easy?"

Matt reached across and took the glass from her fingers. He set it down on the table behind them then, without warning, scooped her off the floor and dumped her across his lap. Startled, she saw that the laughter had died from his eyes and had been replaced by something quite different, something she found both arousing and terrifying in equal measure.

"Matt," she faltered, suddenly aware of just how much she'd had to drink. Her head was swimming. She needed to wrench herself away. Do--something...

But before she could move, Matt's arms slid around her waist. "Lissy Barton," he murmured, smiling.

Melissa's mouth went dry. "Matt," she tried again. "Look, I--"

"Melissa Susannah Barton." Shaking his head, he put his finger to her lips, his smile broadening. "Do you know you were the first girl I ever kissed?"

Melissa swallowed. "Yes, well. You--you were the first boy I ever kissed, Matthew David McKenzie," she managed, her voice little more than a whisper.

"I know." Still smiling, his gaze remained fixed on hers as his fingers trailed across her cheek to stroke a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. She fought hard to repress a gasp, her skin tingling from his touch. "Everything was so simple back then, wasn't it? I thought I had it all figured out. I had a plan. I was going to become an award-winning architect, get married to the girl I loved and have four kids, a cat, a dog and a goat."

"A goat?" Melissa homed in on the mention of the unusual pet in an attempt to hide her astonishment. Was he saying thatshe'd been the girl he loved?

"Yep, a goat." The boyish grin made a brief reappearance. "I hate mowing the lawn."

"Ah." She tried to nod sagely but a wave of regret was sweeping across her entire body, washing through to the very tips of her fingers and toes. "Well, you did become an award-winning architect."

"True."

"What happened to the girl?" Melissa was appalled to find she'd actually voiced her thought. The heat returned to her face.

Matt studied her intently for several long seconds. "Oh, that's a good question. Such a good question." Then he leaned forward, cupped her chin in his hands and dropped the lightest of kisses on her forehead. "One I've been asking myself for the last fourteen years."

Melissa shivered though she was no longer at all cold. With a sigh, Matt reached for the blanket that had fallen to the floor and wrapped it snugly around her shoulders. "Come on, Lissy," he said softly, still gazing steadily into her eyes. "I really think we should go to bed now."

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Thanks for reading me. All votes and comments happily received! Lily -x-