Five: A Maor Novel (Maor series) (16 page)

Chapter
26

Safe

Tastes like: Your mother’s
favourite Sunday recipe.
 

Smells like: A smoky
log-fire in the dead of winter.

Sounds like: The laughter
of children.

Feels like: A warm summer
breeze.

Looks like: Two hands,
clasped tightly together.

I try to call out but can’t even draw in the amount of
air that requires and it comes out as a pitiful grunt. I have no energy to move
or to call again, so instead, I curl myself into a ball right there on the
floor and try to stay conscious.

Somewhere along the line, I lose the battle and wake only
to the sound of Kael’s voice above me. I feel his arms go around me, lifting me
onto the bed but my eyes are too heavy to open.

‘What the hell happened?’ he demands.

‘I don’t know,’ Kent says, ‘she was fine when I left
her.’

‘Why did you lock her in here?’

‘
You
said I
should lock her in here. She tried to go after you. What was I supposed to do?’

‘Did you even bother to check on her?

‘No, why should I? She was safe.’

‘I never should have trusted you.’

‘Hang on a sec! Don’t get all angry with me. I did as
you asked. How could I have known there was something wrong? She never called me
and I’m not connected like you are.’

‘You wouldn’t have heard over that blaring television
anyway,’ Kael retorts and I feel his cool hands brush across my forehead.

‘Shaylee, can you hear me?’ he whispers urgently.

‘It hurts…’ I groan, keeping my eyes firmly shut against
the pain that still wracks my body.

‘Where does it hurt?’

I wrap my arms around my stomach and try to curl into a
protective ball but Kael’s hands are there, gently but firmly prying my arms
away.

‘Let me see,’ he commands.

He bares my midriff and cool air hits me like an icicle.
I shiver uncontrollably and when Kael places his palm on the butterfly marking,
I arch my back away from him with a sharp intake of breath.

‘No, please don’t!’ I cry. His touch is like a thousand
needles piercing my skin.

‘I’m sorry, Shaylee but I must,’ he says in a tight
voice, ‘it will ease the pain. Kent?’

‘No, please!’ I cry again, as Kent takes hold of my legs,
stretching me out so that Kael can place one palm on my exposed middle, while
he cuffs both of my wrists in his other hand.

A scream of pure agony escapes my lips as his skin
touches mine and I try to buck away, but both of them are unrelenting. Kael’s
hands are cattle-brands, but he holds them in place, unflinching in the face of
my pain. Tears stream down my face and the edges of my vision go black.

‘It’s not working. Kael, stop!’ Kent says above the
sound of my sobbing. He lets go and then Kael does too and I curl away, into a
fetal position.

‘I don’t understand,’ Kael says.

He reaches his hand toward me again but I flinch away.

‘I need to get Tanya,’ he says.

‘She didn’t come back with you?’ Kent asks.

‘No, she’s tracking with Jake.’

‘Tracking?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you -’

‘Later. I’ve got to find Tanya. This time - stay with
her!’

‘I’m not a monster, Kael.’

‘I’ll be back as soon as I can, Shaylee,’ he bends over
and whispers in my ear, ‘you’ll be alright.’

His voice is gentle but there is urgency in it that
reaches into the darkness I am spiraling into. I want to tell him not to leave
me but all I can manage is a quiet groan. He brushes his hand across my
forehead again, down my cheek and a second later, I feel only the absence of
him and I let go.

When I wake again, it is to pitch blackness. I lay for a
while, disoriented and let my eyes adjust and wander around the unfamiliar room
until they come to the opposite side of the bed in which I lay.

There, sprawled on his back, sleeps Kael. His shirtless
torso gleams against the black cotton-blend sheets, and the duvet, which probably
covered him at some stage, now lies in a tangled heap around his muscular
bronzed legs and boxer-covered hips.
 

I run my gaze appreciatively down and back up the length
of him, to his face. There is something very innocent and childlike about him, in
this unconscious state. A stray, dark curl falls across his forehead and I itch
to brush it away.

I remember why I’m here, in his room and run a hand across
my middle. The pain has subsided and the butterfly is no longer throbbing. I
should get up. I should walk back to my own room next door. I should undress
and sleep in my own bed. I should, but I don’t. Instead I snuggle back into the
warm bed, on my side, facing Kael.

I watch the steady rise and fall of his chest and the
curl on his forehead that moves, slightly with each exhaled breath. I watch as
his eyelids flicker with dreams and the corners of his lips turn up, unguarded
in sleep. I pull the downy duvet higher, tuck it under my chin and watch Kael,
until my own eyes grow too heavy to keep open.

Chapter
27

Suspicious

Tastes like: Bitter cocoa.

Smells like: Smoke.

Sounds like: A mosquito,
buzzing around your head.

Feels like: The dry,
prickly grass of winter.

Looks
like: Wrinkled skin.

The bright morning sun, shining through the unlined
curtains, wakes me. I stretch languidly, feeling well-rested and content. I
can’t remember when last I had a full night’s sleep like this, uninterrupted by
nightmares.

I look to the other side of the bed and realize with
disappointment, that it is empty. Only the wrinkled sheets and slight indentation
in the mattress offers proof that Kael had, at some point during the night,
been resting beside me. I stare at the spot on the mattress and convince myself
that it is better this way. It would have been somewhat embarrassing for both
of us to wake up together, in the same bed.

Still, I can’t ignore the disappointment. Last night,
I’d caught a glimpse of the real Kael again; the one who keeps himself hidden
behind those soulful eyes; the one whose touch betrays gentleness at odds with
his sullenness. The memory of his face, relaxed and child-like in sleep, makes
me smile.
  

I rise, try to smooth the creases from my strappy top
and jeans and run my fingers through my tangled hair.
 
The smell of bacon and eggs, sizzling on the
stove has me salivating before I reach the kitchen. There Sandra stands, in her
checkered apron, humming a discordant tune as she flips an egg in the pan. She
looks up from her task as I enter and breaks into a hearty smile.

‘Good morning, love! Just in time for breakfast. Sit
down. I’ll pour you a cuppa.’ She limps toward the counter with a plate of fried
eggs and crispy bacon and sets it down before me, gesturing toward the toast
and glass bottles of home-made orange-marmalade, apricot and blueberry jam.

‘Help yourself.’

‘Thanks.’

I inhale appreciatively, smear a generous dollop of farm
butter onto the hot toast, and bite into it. My eyes close in involuntary
pleasure. The low-fat olive-oil spread mom always buys just can’t compare to
the taste of real, salted butter.

I chew slowly, relishing each bite and then sigh and
opened my eyes. ‘Where is everyone?’

‘They’ll be here soon.’ Sandra says. ‘Did you sleep
well?’

‘Yes, thanks.’ I look past her through the kitchen
window to where the sun is shining brightly outside. ‘What time is it?’

‘After ten. You had quite a night, love. Feeling
better?’

I nod and watch as she fills the mug beside me to the
brim with coffee and settles her generous hips onto the stool opposite me. The
coffee smells so good and she has gone to so much trouble to prepare this
breakfast that I don’t have the heart to decline the cup. I know I will
probably have a caffeine-induced migraine to contend with later but I smile and
raise my mug to my lips.

‘Kael told me what happened last night.’ Sandra eyes me
over the rim of her own mug with a concerned frown. ‘Has it happened before?’

‘No, well, kind of,’ I say, remembering that fateful
night back home that had set the wheels in motion for my move to Aylburton, and
the headache that morning in Kael’s truck. ‘But I’m fine now.’

‘Hmm.’

She watches me for a moment, still frowning and bends to
take a sip from her steaming mug. I dig into my eggs and bacon and there is comfortable
silence for a while. When my plate is empty, I sit back and dab my mouth with a
serviette.

‘So, what happened last night?’ I ask.

‘What do you mean?’

‘With the fire?’

‘Oh, the fire.’ Sandra says. She sounds relieved, which
puzzles me. ‘The fire was extinguished. Thank heavens it only destroyed a few
acres; we caught it in time.’

‘That’s good. I was getting worried when you took so
long.’

‘No need to worry about us, love. We can take care of
ourselves.’

She stands, rubs her hip absently and limps toward the sink.

‘Nan is probably wondering where I am,’ I say, more to
myself than to anyone else but Sandra shakes her head.

‘She brought over a bag for you this morning. It’s in
Kael’s bathroom and he wants you to stay here until he gets back.’

I feel a flash of pleasure that he should want to see me
this morning but then I think, he probably just wants to talk about last
night…or lay down more rules.

‘I’m going to shower.’ I say with a flicker of
irritation.

‘Sure, love.’ Sandra turns back toward the sink-full of
dishes and starts humming again as she washes. The soft clink of cutlery
follows me down the passage to Kael’s room, where I find the bag Nan brought,
tucked behind the door. In it, are a pair of jeans, underwear, a cotton long
sleeved tee and some basic toiletries.

I close the door behind me, strip down and slip into the
shower. I reach for the bottle of shampoo from my bag, hesitate and then squeeze
a generous portion of Kael’s musky smelling shampoo onto my hands instead.
There is something comforting about that smell, but I won’t allow myself to analyze
why.
 

When I am dressed and toweling my wet hair, I hear the
front door open. I pause to listen and catch the faint murmur of voices from
the kitchen, so I drop the towel onto the floor and pad, barefoot, back up the
passage toward the voices. The soft carpet pile muffles my footsteps and as I
near the kitchen, I can make out the voices of Kael and Sandra, arguing.

‘She has a right to know, Kael.’

‘And what purpose would that serve?’

‘He’s right, Sandra,’ Nan interjects, ‘there’s no sense
in making her more afraid than she already must be.’

‘This is serious,’ says Kent. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘About what?’ I ask, pausing in the doorway.

Everyone turns toward me.

‘Shaylee!’ Nan rushes forward to brush a kiss across my
cheek. ‘Are you feeling better?’

‘Yes, I’m fine,’ I say, letting her lead me toward the
dining room table where Kael pulls out a chair for me. ‘What’s going on?’

Sandra sends a stern look in Kael’s direction but he shakes
his head and drops to one knee in front of my chair. He scans my face, as
though he’s searching for traces of the pain from last night.

‘You’re sure you’re fine?’ he asks and when I nod, he
exhales. ‘Has it happened before?’

‘Once, but I’d rather not talk about it.’ I let my gaze
run over their faces in turn. ‘What happened?’

Nan ignores my question and puts one hand on my
shoulder. ‘Kael said you collapsed last night. He came to call me but when I
arrived, you were fast asleep. Are you sure you’re alright?’

‘I’m fine. Honestly.’

‘I could cancel your date with Tristan tonight if you
don’t feel up to it?’ Nan offers.

‘Is that tonight?’

‘Yes, Tristan wanted to take you dancing.’

Kael frowns and he stands upright and faces Nan.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea after last night, Tanya.’

‘But I feel fine,’ I say.

‘No,’ he says, abruptly. ‘If you’re that desperate to
see your fiancé, he’ll have to come here. I’m not taking any chances.’ He sends
a heated glare my way and stalks out the door.

‘What’s gotten into him?’ I say, staring after him.

Nan sighs and pats my hand.

‘It was a long night for all of us. I’ll tell Tristan to
join us for dinner instead.’

She and Kent disappear through the doorway and Sandra goes
back to the sink. With a confused sigh, I slip into the pool room. I can’t help
feeling that I’m missing something important.