Return Trip

Matthew drove into the county side.

His face was still charming and the warm expression made Diane feel comfortable. Diane wasn’t sure why she trusted him so much. She just met him yesterday and then things got out of control.

Matthew finally turn to Diane. “I’m so sorry all of this . My crew found a storm brewing and went to the docks. I would of normally woke you but you were so deeply sleeping.”

“Why would you leave me with no word on what was going on. I thought you were a creep and that I made a big mistake. I was so confused. That’s why I left to get out of here.”

“I left a guard at door but I was betrayed.”

“I had checked the weather for the weekend. There was no bad weather.”

“Wrong kind of a storm. This was personal storm that I had to deal with.

Matthew pulled over to a cabin overlooking the valley below with the ocean in the far distance

“I know you said Dave was jobless but I think there is stuff you didn’t know about him. He has been sabotaged my local distillery and warehouses. I heard there was an under handed player starting up. I think Dave recognized me after we met on the beach. The worst part of Dave thinks you’re helping me it’s not going to be safe to take you home.”

“And that awful man who handcuffed me, you said I was nothing more then a maid!” Diane’s face was a mix of emotions as she was holding back to tears of all the recent events. “What do you mean by underhanded? Alcohol isn’t that complicated.”

“I said you were like a maid so men like Ryan won’t come after you to get to me. Right now the less you know about my business the safer you’ll be. I would explain all of this had we been given time. I know this is a lot to take in.”

“Ok so if I can’t go home cause you claim Dave is..”

“Claim! I don’t make a habit of lying, dammit.”

Matthew’s face was slight red as he got upset.

“Look I know we just met but one thing you need to know about me is I never lie”

Diane froze. She wasn’t expecting Matthew to get upset. Right now she in the the middle of all these stories. She didn’t know what to believe.

“I thank you for thinking about my safety. If I was in my hometown I can take care of myself. I would like you to take me home.”

Matthew seemed to calm down but he wasn’t happy either.

“I prefer you stayed with me until this all blows over plus we will get a chance to know each other more.

I have a nice house with a pool and a maid.”

“While that sounds nice I would really prefer to go home. I have a career that is going well and my apartment that will need my attention.”

All of this for a women I don’t know yet. I checked out her background this morning. A few medical files but I didn’t look at them, some debt, and everything else was good. No payment except from her normal job. Matthew thought. And I’ll keep an eye off her incase I’m wrong.

“Ok, I won’t force you but if you run into trouble due to any of this… I’ll have to insist you stay with me.”

Matthew paused as he stared into Diane’s eyes before he continued

“Let’s go back to boat tomorrow. Tonight how about we relax in the cabin. You look tired from all of this.”

“To be clear” Diane’s face was stone bitch cold, the kind of look you would get from being in huge trouble with a spouse or parent. “I’m not sleeping with you. I want my own room.”

“Of course,I understand.” Matthew showed no emotions but inside he was praying she would change her mind. Even if she is against him it was still the best night he ever had.

Diane walked into the cabin. She was happy to see this was a simple but clean cabin plus it was just the two of them so that nothing else goes wrong. That is if her instincts were right and she could trust Matthew. Her taste in men hasn’t been too good lately.

The night was uneventful. Matthew gave her a t-shirt off his to use as PJs. Diane was put her close in the laundry and Matthew said he put them in dryer before he went to bed.

The next morning Matthew and Diane made it back to the boat.

Matthew had a strange look on his face that Diane hadn’t seen before. It was scary look with his breathing being huffy and puffy.

“Diane I need you to point out who on my crew was so rude and thought it was a good idea for you to go walking the docks”

Diane waited to shirk. Though she is a manger at her company she really did hate big confrontations.

“Diane” Matthew was being impatient. “For the safety of all of us I need to know who”

Diane pointed to the guy who has trying to hide in behind the crew members. He finally walked forward with his head down and at a slow pace.

“I’m sorry Sir Helm. I didn’t know..”

“Shut it” yelled Matthew

Matthew took a couple of deep breaths and pointed to a spot near the edge of the boat. “Strand here and don’t move”

Matthew whispered something to man before he walked away. Matthew then spoke to the caption before taking Diane over to the seating area so they could enjoy the trip back.

The boat has just about a mile off the docks when they heard a splash.

Diane started to get up. Matthew grab her hand. “It’s ok. It was his choice. He chose to swim to shore.”