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I chuckle and pull on our joined hands, shifting under his arm and into his side when he steps closer. We’re walking toward the meadow, the moonlight our only guide, and I have to admit, if this wasn’t my home, I’d be thinking the same thing.
“So, I should trust you, but you don’t trust me?” I tut and smile at the ground, the grass dry underfoot thanks to another beautiful summer’s day.
“I’ve not given you a reason to doubt me yet. But here you are, leading me through a dark field in the middle of nowhere.”
I look up at his six-foot-three frame. “You scared, big man?”
“No,” he baulks.
“Good.” I smile before ducking out from under his arm and running for the top of the hill. The moon’s full, waiting for me on the other side of the lake.
“Scarlet.”
I chuckle, wondering if he can see me fully. “Don’t get lost out here… the bears will get you.”
He’s walking at a normal pace, hands in his pockets, unfazed, while I’m running backward, a smile spread wide as a fresh night’s breeze sets me free.
“Don’t dirty that pretty suit, princess,” I taunt, reaching the brow of the hill.
I rush down the bank, ducking behind the large aspen tree at the bottom. The lake is beautifully still tonight despite the light wind. It’s like this most nights, but there’s not a time it doesn’t enrapture me.
It embodies everything that the estate is for me.
I see Lance meet the water’s edge, and if he was searching for me before, he’s been distracted. The moon reflects off the water, glowing across his face as he gazes past the boat and beyond the wide expanse.
I follow his gaze and then wait as the view ebbs away the adrenaline coursing through me.
“Without the moon, I’d be nothing at night.”
He shifts his head toward the tree I’m holding on to. I smooth my hand down the bark and step out from the shadows.
“You don’t come out here alone, do you?” he asks, concerned.
I nod, standing beside him. “It’s safe. It’s only me out here. And you, tonight.” I smile, looking up at him.
He frowns. “I thought you… in the elevator that day, you said you were afraid of the dark.”
“I’m terrified of the dark.”
He looks down at me as if I’ve lost all sanity.
“This isn’t darkness, Lance.”
He turns to look up at the hill, then back at me. “Mase doesn’t come out here?”
I shake my head and say, “Never.”
He sets his jaw, eyes troubled as he stares back out over the lake. “Will you tell me why?”
“Why Mason doesn’t come out here?” I ponder the question as I take a relaxed breath.
“No,” Lance says guiltily, forcing my eyes up to his. “Why are you afraid of the dark?”
Oh. I swallow and shrug. “Honestly, I don’t really know. When I was a baby, I slept fine. When my mum died, Dad co-slept, but then when I turned three, he moved me into my own room. It was right next to his, but the second he shut the light out and left the room, I screamed the house down.” I roll my lips, feeling so stupid. “It went on for years. I didn’t know it then, but he was drinking at the time, which is why he couldn’t co-sleep anymore.”
“Did anyone know he was drinking?”
I shake my head no, a sad smile thinning my lips. “I was too young, and eventually, I felt like I was causing his sadness and change in moods. I started to pretend to read. I’d hold a book in front of my face for hours to give myself, and anyone who cared, a reason not to switch out the lamp… I guess old habits die hard.”
