Page 62 of The Last Resort
Rachel reached into the backpack and as she searched for the iPad, her fingers touched another long cylindrical case. “What else do you have in here?”
“I told you the scanner doesn’t do beverages, so I made us some hot chocolate and poured it into a flask.”
He had to be kidding. He had cocoa?
“Is this a Harry Potter thing you have going on here? You know the Room of Requirement, but instead yours is a backpack. If I ask for a puppy, will one magically appear out of the bag?”
Matthew came and sat beside her. “No puppies, that would be cruel. I guess I’m just a seasoned traveler who knows what to pack. And I like my creature comforts.”
She handed him the thermos, then reached back into the bag for the cups which surely had to be in there.
“We’ll have to share the cup on the top of the thermos. I’d run out of space once I put the scanner in.”
He poured a cup of steaming cocoa, while Rachel worked to get the scanning app on the iPad ready. As she did, she had a sudden vision of what a life with Matthew could be like. Snuggling up on dangerous rooftops in the dark, while playing with expensive design equipment.
To anyone else it probably didn’t seem all that much of a romantic notion, there were no flowers or candlelit suppers up here. But as the snowflakes began to fall and the scanner slowly spun round, she came to a heartfelt realization.
I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world right now.
“Thank you for this, Matthew.”
“It’s only hot chocolate, but you’re welcome.”
She set the iPad down and gratefully accepted the cup from Matthew’s hands.
“It’s more than that.” This was the first time they’d really connected since their relationship fell apart. “This is nice.”
When Matthew’s gloved hand touched hers, Rachel threaded her fingers through his and he gave a reassuring squeeze.
“You’re right, it is nice. I’m glad we are working on being friends.”
Could they do this? Could they set their differences aside and be friends?A friendship wouldn’t be the worst outcome.
Her heart gently whispered, “Don’t betray me again, Rachel. Don’t settle for second best.”
“Is that what you want us to be Matthew, just friends?”
He shook his head. “No. What I want is for you and me to go back to what we were before that awful council meeting. But when we do, I want us to agree that we never let anything like that ever come between us again. No more secrets or lies.”
Rachel sipped at her cocoa. It should have been sweet, but the bitter taste of guilt somehow ruined it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Two days later.
The weather had finally begun to warm, and the snow was melting. To Matthew’s relief, he and Rachel had managed to dig the SUV out earlier this morning. They’d been spared the worst of the snowstorm, and the power had stayed on, but neither was prepared to take further risks. Matthew brought the Jeep around and parked it in the front parking lot. They found an old tarpaulin in the basement and covered the SUV as best as they could.
They’d also made a shopping list. Rachel’s sister was going to fill it and drop their supplies off sometime this morning. For some strange reason he’d been asked to make himself scarce when Kellie arrived. Rachel had said something about the Brocks trying to maintain an impartial distance, but Matthew had his doubts. As long as they had plenty of food and their favorite wine, he was content to stay out of the way.
His plans for the morning included putting what was left of his model back together before he and Rachel started theserious business of haggling over what changes needed to be made. The scans of the roof had revealed several major cracks across the center and dozens of smaller ones which spread out to the edges. After reviewing the 3D scans, they’d agreed that the roof was now permanently off limits. If the lodge was to be saved, it would come with the cost of a whole new roof.
During the snowed-in day, they’d scouted around the second floor of the lodge and broken into the old ballroom. It wasn’t really much of a ballroom, but he could imagine that in days gone past it would have held a respectable number of guests for pre-dinner drinks.
They had a few more weeks before they would need to deliver something to the Brocks and the city council for review. The job itself wasn’t all that huge, but Matthew was more than content to drag his feet.
I want Rachel and I to sort things out before we leave. I’m not giving up on us.
After they’d pushed some tables together to form a platform for the reconstruction of the ‘Death Star’, Matthew gave Rachel her marching orders. “I’ll handle things from here.”
