By the time he glanced up again, he noticed that the shadows had lengthened and he realized in shock that it was much later than he had thought. Quietly, he took two of the pancakes they had had for breakfast from his saddlebag and put away his sketchpad, before he gently woke her and handed one of the pancakes to her.
She was still groggy from sleep and he smiled with amusement when she obeyed him without question. But he also felt guilty for allowing her to tire herself out so much. Matthew handed her clothes to her and left her to put the saddlebag on the horse’s back and to lead it into the shadows of the trees. By the time he returned leading the horse, she had dressed and started to roll up the blanket.
Tying the blanket in its place, he watched Kara out of the corner of his eye and noticed that she still looked rather tired. He had not intended to stay out so long or allow her to push herself so hard, but she had been so excit
It had been about a week since he first took her to their spot. And things seemed to ease around them, but this morning he seemed introspective and she wondered what was on his mind.She could never have guessed what he said near the end of their meal. “We’re leaving early tomorrow morning, do you need help packing?” He asked her without any preamble.There were so many questions running through her mind that she was finding it hard to word out one, so all she managed was: “what?”He seemed to realize that he hadn’t given her much information and she was at least grateful that she was not the only one struggling to arrange her thoughts properly. But in his case, it was probably to do with the running of his ranch. She couldn’t arrange too much on hers from where she was sitting, for now, she could only write down her plans for when she was finally able to run it properly again. So her
Mathew could see the tension in Kara’s face and actions the moment she rolled out of her room the next morning. He knew she was uncomfortable with showing herself in public in the chair. But he needed her to understand that she was not less herself for what she went through.He wished he could show her what she looked like through his eyes. He was in awe of her strength and perseverance. She was an amazing woman and he wished he had the courage to really show her how he felt, but he couldn’t face it when he remembered how it had ended the last time he had tried to come close to her.So he was quiet, just like she was, on the drive to the airport. He knew she expected to be tortured through the long and tiring process of a normal flight, but he had been keeping a pretty big secret from her and mostly everyone in the area.He was about to let her in on his secret and he was nervous to see her reaction. In the time sh
Kara had spent the whole day after he had told her about the trip worrying about having to face people the way she was. She had hoped that she would be able to be back on her feet before she had to face anyone she didn’t know again.She felt a little like a failure for not being able to walk already. She’d always been able to do anything she put her mind to, but her legs just wouldn’t work with her. It was depressing to have to face people with her obvious failure stark in front of them.The drive to the airport was quiet, Mathew seemed deep in thought and she was grateful for it. She was still working through how she felt with him just expecting her to show up in public in the state she was in.Of course, she wasn’t angry at him. Her therapists had insisted that she go out in public, but she had been hesitant. She was wearing her bad decisions and failure on her sleeve with her still in the chair. 
Mathew enjoyed himself watching Kara during the flight. She was trying really hard not to gawk at everything, but her face was adorably easy to read. Their conversation still flowed easily and he was happy knowing that she was coming to support him.He knew he was pushing her limits, but he had checked with her doctor and therapist before he had told her. He didn’t want to endanger her progress, but they agreed getting out would be good for her emotional health.Even if she didn’t know that he wanted her to be there for him as his support, he was grateful that she was. He’d seen her true character that weekend he had invited her to his brother’s wedding and his whole family loved her. They thought they made a handsome couple.But what had proven her character to him was that she had supported him, without meaning to. She had been annoyed with him, but not once had she embarrassed him or been rude to his
Mathew carried her to the car again, but this time there was a driver and he would be sitting in the back with her, but there was also a van with a Gallery’s name on it. He put her in the back seat of the waiting car and then made sure his paintings were loaded without being damaged, before he signed the forms on the clipboard. As soon as he sat down in the back seat, he smiled at her. “Are you hungry?” He asked with interest and she shrugged. She might be, but her stomach was twisted up in so many knots that she wasn’t sure if she could eat, anyway. Do you want to have dinner in the hotel restaurant tonight? To give you time to get used to things?” He offered reassuringly. Kara was thoughtful for a moment. “Yes, I think it would give me some idea of what to expect and to get used to things.” She answered while she watched the throngs of people and cars outside. It felt like a lifetime since she had left the city to take over Grandpa’s ranch and being in the rush of city li
Once they had both unpacked their luggage for the days they would be staying, he sought her out again. “Would you like to order dinner in or go out?” He asked where he leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom in the suite. It was sweet that he kept checking with her to make sure she was comfortable.“What did you have in mind?” She asked with interest while she pushed her empty suitcase into the bottom of the wardrobe.“I was thinking we could relax for now and then go for a swim in the pool?”Kara blinked at him in surprise. She hadn’t expected them to go swimming, so she hadn’t packed a swim suit. She had expected him to have a whole list of things he needed to do while he was in the city, but it seemed he had even considered her exercises in his planning.“I didn’t pack swimwear…” She finally answered after a slight hesitation.He grinned. “Then we go shopping, first. Maybe get something to eat in the mall while we’re there?”Kara shrugged. “Yeah, sure, we could do tha
When she came out of her room in the swimsuit, he was happy to see that she had picked one of the bikinis he’d picked out. Ironically, it was the one that closely resembled the trunks he currently had on. “Hey, we’re twinsies!” Mathew teased with a wide grin, mostly because she had put on the bikini he had chosen and not the one piece she had picked. He was pleasantly surprised that she wore his pick. Kara rolled her eyes, but he noticed her trying to hide the smile of amusement at his reaction. He loved her reactions to his teasing, knowing that she found it hard to hide her amusement, but she still tried. Grabbing the towels he had taken from his room, he handed them to her before he took his place behind her chair and headed for the elevator. The swimming pool and gym were on the roof and he was excited to spend this time with her. There was just something about being in the water with her, seeing her enjoy the water while pushing herself to exercise her legs. He was compl
They were on their way to the gallery and Mathew was watching her with interest. He could see she was nervous, but he had been pleasantly surprised when she had accepted the dress he had bought her without a fight.It proved that she was feeling out of her depth and he was worried that he had pushed things too far. “Kara?”She hummed and turned questioning eyes to him. She looked beyond gorgeous tonight in the deep red velvet, off the shoulder dress made his mouth water. He wished he could strip it off her after the party, but he would have to find some control. “You look amazing.” He answered, realizing that she was still waiting for him to say something.“You already told me that, but thank you.” She smiled faintly.He wanted to tell her they could leave if she felt too uncomfortable, but he didn’t want her to take the easy out. He’d seen the insecurity in he