Finding Pride (Pride Series) (5 page)

“I’m sorry; I’m just a little tired,” she said, never once taking her eyes from his hands. “New place, new house and all.”

He walked slowly towards her. “Megan, you don’t have to explain to me. Nothing and no one will harm you here.” He said softly. “I’ll lock the door behind me.” He grabbed his keys, turned and was gone.

She must have stood there looking at the empty doorway for a few minutes. Finally, she turned and shut the glass fireplace doors, on the now dying fire. Taking the quilt with her, she began the climb to the second floor.

At the top of the stairs she noticed there were two smaller bedrooms with a small bath in between. They both had large beds with oak head boards, dressers, and smaller night tables. At the end of the hall was the large master bedroom, which would have enclosed both the other rooms entirely. It faced the back of the house and had lovely French doors that lead off to a large deck. It was too dark outside to see how large, but she could tell it was fairly large. Leaning her head against the glass doors she could hear the rain.

The room itself was very comfortable, with its large four poster king size oak bed, which sat directly in the middle of the room. There was a small writing desk off to one corner, two small oak night tables with a large numbered alarm clock on one and a plain white lamp on the other. A picture of her and Matt sat next to the lamp. She walked over and picked it up.

She remembered the picture well. It was taken on her wedding day. Matt had his arm around her waist and they both had on identical smiles. She remembered feeling on top of the world that day; she could see that he’d been proud of her. Matt hadn’t really had a chance to get to know Derek, looking back on it; she realized that Derek had kept his distance on purpose.

She set the picture down and walked over to a door next to the fireplace. It was a large bathroom; it had an oversized garden tub and a stand alone shower. She knew she would not be able to use for another few weeks, due to her cast. Two marble sinks sat on a long marble counter with overhead lights that surrounded the mirror. She leaned over the tub and started to fill it with warm water.

A fireplace was set into the wall opposite the tub. By the door you could see into the bedroom through the flames, so that the fireplace opened up warming both rooms at once. She found some bubble soap in the cupboard by the mirror, and put a little into the tub.

Leaving the tub to fill, she headed back into the bedroom. On the back wall, there was another door. Walking through it she reached for a light switch. It was a large walk in closet filled with Matt’s clothes. Megan walked through it touching her brother’s shirts. Stopping at one of his favorite shirts, she remembered him wearing it all the time. Taking it off the hanger she pulled it up to her face and smelled her brother. Her knees went weak and she sank down right there on the floor of the closet and cried.

M
egan woke to birds singing, she hadn’t slept straight through a night without fear in years. Her eyes didn’t burn and she almost felt like jumping out of bed – almost, that is, until the memories came flooding back. There was a dull ache where her brother used to be, and a shooting pain running up her back and down her arm. But, the sun was coming in through the curtains that covered the windows; and she could hear the birds singing outside.

Stretching her good arm above her head she sat up and rolled her shoulders, trying to relax the bruised muscles. Reaching around she tried to pull her tangled hair in a simple pony tail, she had been tempted to chop it all off until she could use both arms again. But, she supposed she was vain and wanted to keep it long. Walking over to the French doors she moved the drapes aside. Gasping at the view, she began fumbling with the locks. When she finally threw open the doors; she took in a large breath of fresh air, and could smell a hint of lingering rain and the grassy meadows.

“Oh, Matthew it’s beautiful.” She whispered.

It was February in Oregon so the air held a great chill, but she could see the sun behind a thin layer of fog which was disappearing quickly. The fields behind the house were so green it almost hurt her eyes. Stepping out on the large deck; she saw that it was huge. In fact, it covered the entire side of the house. There were stairs leading down to the back yard. Birds were perched on the large old tree that shaded the back of the house.

She loved the sound of them and smiled as they flew from tree branch to tree branch. She thought about getting some bird seed when she went into town for supplies. Looking around, she could just make out the ocean; it peaked through the thick trees at the edge of the field next to the barn. A large brown garage and an even bigger red and white barn stood off to the side of the house. The garage looked like it was in need of a fresh coat of paint. Inside the large opened doors she could see a black Jeep. The barn looked like it could use some repair as well. But, for the most part, both were in good shape.

Turning back into the room she glanced at the clock on the night stand. It couldn’t be eleven o’clock! She was sure it had been around midnight when she had finally crawled into the large bed and gone to sleep, she hadn’t slept this much in a long time.

Walking over to her suitcase, she pulled out an old pair of worn jeans and put them on. When she started to pull out one of her shirts, she changed her mind and instead walked over to the closet and pulled out one of Matt’s favorite shirts, putting it on over her tank top. It was soft and smell of her brother, she quickly made the bed and set off downstairs. Reaching the top of the stairs she noticed her feet were cold and turned to go back to get socks.

When she reached the bottom step, her feet comfortable in a pair of her brothers thick wool socks, she stopped and listened. The place felt cold and empty and she realized that she hadn’t lived in a house since she’d been ten. After her parent’s death, they had always rented apartments, never houses. Then when she had moved out on her own, she’d lived in the college dorms until she purchased a small townhouse with Derek.

This was a house, a large house. There was a large chandelier hanging in the main entry way, which hung from the top floor over the large twisted stair case. The windows on either side of the door let in plenty of sunlight, which made the entry way bright and cheerful.

Turning to the left she looked into what she thought would have been her brother’s study. The blinds were closed in the room, so she reached for a light switch. There was a large oak desk that sat in the middle of the room; it was clean, with not a piece of paper out of place. A lap top, fax machine and phone sat on the shiny surface.

The floors throughout the entry and office were a light oak, she could tell that they shined and were well maintained. A large ornamental rug covered most of the office floor, making it feel warm and cozy. A dark leather couch sat next to a small fireplace, large book cases sat on either side of it. All of the shelves were neatly stacked with books. A large bay window sat on the opposite wall with a cushioned window seat which was covered by small pillows. There wasn’t a thing out of place in the room, it reminded her so little of Matt, she turned towards the room to the right.

She’d really been in too much of a daze yesterday to have given the house and rooms any thought. Would she stay here? Would she sell the place? At this point, she didn’t even want to think about it.

Heading back down the hall she passed a formal dinning room with a large maple table and twelve chairs. Chairs, which had been filled with people she hardly knew, last night. A small bathroom sat off to the left of the short hallway.

At the end was a wide door, she pushed it open and stopped just short of stepping into the kitchen. The kitchen was as tidy as the rest of the house. It looked bright and cheery with white curtains hanging over the large windows that overlooked the back yard. The room was beautiful, a large oversized white oven filled one wall, brass pots hung from large hooks overhead. A small oak table sat in the corner with two chairs and a small wall bench. Fresh flowers had been placed on the table. Again, the place looked cleaner than she knew Matt had ever been. The place was clean, thanks to the church women who had cleaned it last night.

Back down the hallway, through another set of double doors was a larger sitting room with a couple of comfortable looking chairs, a comfortable couch, and a large flat panel TV. The back wall was covered with more book cases, and a larger fireplace. Books covered the shelves from ceiling to floor, some sitting in front of others, stacked in disarray. The small standing piano stood against the wall. Her brother had learned to play at a young age, and had always tried to teach her. Tried, but never really succeeded.

Her brother had always loved books, sometimes reading for hours with no breaks. This was the room her brother had spent most of his time in; she could see him sitting in front of the fire reading. Walking over to the shelves, she picked a book at random and sat down to a quiet house.

It wasn’t long before she heard a knock at the door which had caused her to almost drop her book. Shaking a little, she started to get up from her comfortable spot, when she heard keys rattling and the front door started to open.

“Megan, its Lacey.” She heard through the haze of her mind. Still shaking, she quickly took deep calming breaths and called out.

“I’m back here.” Sitting again, she continued to slow her breathing so that when Lacey appeared, the shaking had gone, and her breath was under control.

Lacey appeared through the doors, she was dressed in what Megan would assume was a uniform. The fitted black pants were pressed and she wore a red and white striped shirt that had a name tag on her lapel. She also had a large pan covered by tinfoil. Megan’s mouth started to water, when the smells reached her, she realized she was starving.

“I hope you don’t mind, Matt gave us all keys. I stopped by earlier, but didn’t think you were awake yet. I hope you slept well. I just wanted to bring over some hot cinnamon rolls, one of my specialties, before I head out to work.” Lacey smiled and urged her to follow her into the kitchen.

“I brought over all the rolls I could sneak away from my brothers. Do you know that Iian can eat a dozen of these in one setting? How he can do that and look like he does, is a mystery even to me.”

Noticing the book that Megan was carrying, Lacey chimed in. “I know your brother has a vast collection of books, but if you get bored and want to get outside, you might want to go take a look at the cabins. Your brother wanted to start renting them out, kind of like a bed and breakfast. There are five of them, they sit on the same path that takes you down to the beach.”

As Lacey pulled out a plate, she pointed out the kitchen window. “That path there. I know Matt, Iian and Todd had completed a lot of work on some of them, but I don’t think they finished them all. The keys are on the hook just inside that cupboard. I know you’re still unsure whether you want to stay. Just take a look at them, take a walk, and clear your head.”

Handing her a plate with a large cinnamon roll, Lacey took a plate for herself and sat down.

Lacey had an uncanny way of saying what Megan was feeling. She’d been staying inside, avoiding decisions. Maybe a walk is what she needed. After taking her first bite, Megan could no longer deny that she had been hungry. The sweet rolls were still warm and not only the fluffiest, but the best she’d ever had.

“There should be a law against these.” Megan smiled over at Lacey. “I think I could eat a dozen of these myself, but don’t expect me to stay this thin.”

Lacey smiled at her friend. “Why do you think I brought them over here? So I wouldn’t be tempted to eat them all myself.”