Written Fireside - On Valentine's, Part 4

If you've missed any of the earlier parts of this story, you can catch up here -

Part 1 - by Lori Connelly

Part 2 - by Lynn Marie Hulsman

Part 3 - by Angela Campbell  

If you're up to date, read on!

On Valentine's - Part 4

"Well," he rocked back on his heels and studied her for a moment.  One large, capable looking hand just inches from her knee. "I guess I could be your knight in shining armour and dash off to summon help." He grinned, a fan of wrinkle lines spreading out from his eyes. "But, that could take a while, and I'm not so sure I want to leave you here on your own."

"I'm fine, honest. Or, I can come with you, I'm not a complete invalid. "Cat made a move to get up, and winced as a sharp pain shot from her shoulder down to her elbow. On second thoughts, maybe she just needed to sit for a while.

"I don't think balancing on my handlebars cross country would be a good idea to even if you hadn't done yourself an injury." The deep chuckle made Cat forget the pain for a moment, and drew a smile onto her own face. "There's just me and my mountain bike I'm afraid, on a get away from it all weekend. Which is why Danny dropped me off. "

Cat met his gaze, and for a moment those clear blue eyes made her forget why she was here. They took her back, in an unexpected rush, to a long, hot, summer, years ago. "I do know you, we've met before haven't we?"

He nodded, and she felt the heat rush to her cheeks, and hoped I didn't remember it quite like she did. Those carefree days spent here at the cabin, swimming in the lake, hiking in the hills, evenings sat by the fire eating, drinking, four kids having fun ... until she'd made a complete fool out of herself with her teenage crush on Danny . At the time she'd been devastated that he'd brushed her off and been more interested in having fun with his mate, Jed. Then, she'd just hoped with a passion that Makayla hadn't noticed, even though she'd known the quiet, watchful Jed had witnessed the whole humiliating incident.

But the summer had ended, and so had her obsession. Danny had gone back to just being her best friend's older brother. And the whole thing had been consigned to a distant memory, until now.

"It was a long time ago." Jed stood up abruptly, broke the spell. "How does it feel?"

For a moment Cat was confused, then remembered. Of course, the arm. He was talking about her arm. "Fine, I'm sure it will be fine."

"You sure?" She nodded. "It's getting a bit late for me to go out now, it'll be dark soon. How about we settle down for the night and I'll go first thing? Here, let me help you get those boots off. "And as he tugged gently at her laces Cat wasn't sure if it was embarrassment, or something quite different, that was sending a fluttering sensation deep down inside her.

Next week you can read Part 5 on Sue Fontin's  blog here,