Maxine Morrey - Second Chance At The Ranch

‘They are clean.’ Nick leant in close to her ear when he’d worked out what Hero was studying, a smile in his voice.

She looked up, embarrassment showing on her face at being caught. But then she felt it, deep within herself, like a revelation she wasn’t even aware she was waiting for. There it was, shining clear in her mind as bright as any neon sign. There was no need to be embarrassed anymore. Not here. Not with Nick. She didn’t need to be afraid anymore. She didn’t need to be anything but herself. As this realisation dawned within her, she turned and smiled at him again, for once not holding back. For once not smiling on someone else’s cue.

Looking up at him, Hero smiled, wide and beautiful. The power of it made Nick catch his breath. This. This was what she was hiding from the world. The question was why? The smile hit Nick square in the face and didn’t stop until it got to his toes, detouring several times on the way down. He pulled her closer, the surroundings too noisy for him to hear. Bending his head towards her, she repeated herself close to his ear, so close that he could feel her warm breath on his skin as she spoke.

‘You have nice hands.’

The simple, almost childlike compliment only added to the feelings racing around his body. His head spun with it all. How the hell did she survive in that cold, shallow world she lived in? Nick saw now what she did her best to hide from the world at large – the shy, insecure young woman who fooled people into thinking that she was in control, completely sure of herself, and everyone around her. But now he knew differently. This girl wasn’t in control at all. She was barely treading water, just trying not to drown.

Nick squeezed her hand a little in a gesture of reply and saw the corners of a smile play upon her mouth. He looked up for a moment and caught the eye of his elder brother who was standing with his new bride, talking to some relatives who had flown in from Sydney for the wedding. He nodded at them and grinned. Nick gave him a brief smile in return. As his gaze left his family, it landed on Susannah. Susannah was also watching them, but she wasn’t smiling. Her eyes were on Hero, and there was something far colder in her expression.

Nick turned back to his partner and steered them away from the main crush, as well as Susannah’s glare.

‘Don’t take this the wrong way.’ He smiled as he pulled away a little in order to look into those hypnotic eyes. ‘Do you want to go outside and get a bit of air?’

He felt her body relax a little in his arms as he said it. That was more than enough answer for him. In a reverse of their earlier journey, Nick once again led the way through the thrumming dancefloor and out into the cool, quiet night.

Once outside, they found a bench a little away from the doors, and the smoking area, and sat down. Nick still held Hero’s hand and, surprising herself, she didn’t pull away. Didn’t want to pull away.

‘Not something you’ve ever fancied then, all this?’ Hero nodded in the direction of the reception room they had just left. ‘By the amount of six-foot-under looks I’ve been receiving, I get the impression that you’re not short of offers.’

Nick shrugged his eyebrows. ‘Nope. Not really sure it’s for me.’

Hero turned a little, kicking off her shoes as she did so, and tucked her legs up in front of her. Resting her chin on her knees, she pulled a face at his reply. ‘The good-looking man with a fear of commitment – isn’t that rather a cliché?’

Nick caught the twinkle in those mesmerising, cat-like eyes of hers. He tilted his head at her.

‘Was that a compliment? The “good-looking” part I mean?’

Hero just smiled.

‘And who said I had a fear of commitment? Or is that a little projection on your part?’

Hero ignored the second question, focusing on the first. ‘Don’t you?’

‘No.’

She echoed his head tilt. ‘So how come you’re not happily ensconced somewhere with a clan of little Nicholases running around?’

‘Perhaps I’m just enough of a good bloke not to want to show up my big brother by getting there first.’

‘Well, that’s very considerate of you, if it’s the case.’

‘I thought so.’

‘But I’m not buying that as the reason for a moment.’

‘No?’ He laughed.

‘Definitely no.’

‘OK. So maybe I just haven’t found the right girl yet.’

Hero considered that. ‘From what I’ve heard, you’ve conducted plenty of research in that department.’

Again, Nick saw the eyes twinkle. She was enjoying this. As much as he was? It was hard to tell.

‘Research can be a very valuable tool.’

‘This is true.’

‘Want to help me with said research?’ He flashed a grin, enjoying this rare, unguarded version of Hero.

She laughed. ‘No, but thank you for offering me the chance to take part in such a prestigious and vital project.’

‘No worries.’

Silence fell between them for a few moments, but it was companionable. From the open windows, they heard the DJ transition one song seamlessly into another. She turned to the sound, then looked back at Nick, a question in her eyes. She didn’t really want to go back in. Not just yet. She wasn’t even comfortable at parties where she did know lots of people. When you barely knew anyone and were also receiving openly questionable looks from certain females, the discomfort tended to grow. Nick understood.

‘Got somewhere else to be?’

A pause. His companion shook her head. The movement was almost imperceptible, but its ripples caused the shining locks to sway gently, catching the light of the outdoor lamp. Nick smiled softly at her, and Hero returned it. She shifted on the bench. The back slats were uncomfortable on her back. Keeping hold of her hand, Nick ran his other arm around her waist and shifted her body until she rested on him, rather than the bench. Much better.

‘Truth is, I thought I had found the right one,’ he said after a few moments.

Hero waited.

‘Turned out I was wrong.’

When he said nothing more, she spoke. ‘What happened? If you don’t mind me asking?’

He didn’t mind her asking. Strange really, because until this moment, he would have thought that Hero Scott would be the last person on earth he’d open up to.

As close as they were together, Hero felt the deep breath he took and then exhaled slowly as his mind worked.

‘I don’t know. To be honest, I thought everything was fine. I thought we were happy. We’d talked about getting married and she seemed stoked. I bought the ring, did the whole down-on-one-knee thing, she accepted, said she couldn’t be happier. Then, next thing I know, I’m walking in on her in bed with her boss. Stupidly, I’d never questioned all that overtime she was doing.’

‘Oh, Nick! I’m so sorry.’ She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. ‘I would never have said anything if …’ She trailed off and looked awkward. Nick laid his cheek against her head. She felt the smile as he returned the reassuring squeeze.

‘Don’t be daft. It’s fine. I didn’t know if Juliet had told you, but I guess not.’

‘No! No, she hadn’t!’ She pulled herself up and twisted so that she could see him. He was surprised to see she looked genuinely upset. ‘Nick, I know you think I’m rather cold, but I’d never make light of something like that … of you being hurt.’

One hand gently cupped her face, the expression in his eyes soft and warm under the low light.

‘I know you wouldn’t. And just for the record, I don’t think you’re cold.’

She smiled at him almost shyly. Their initial distrust and differences had been put aside – at least for the moment. It seemed so obvious to her now. What she first thought was conceit and arrogance wasn’t that at all. It was part of a defence mechanism, a shield. Creating an armour against the world was hardly something she could criticise him about when she spent so much time, perhaps too much, behind her own. She could see, feel, that it was a relief for both of them to have a break from it, even for a just a few moments, revealing themselves to each other, if no one else.