The Clearing
A/N- Thanks for all the reviews! I love to read them and see what you all think! Special thanks to Mid Night for being my beta reader for this section. I really appreciate it! :)
Kris lay quietly in bed, staring at the clock on the wall. Was it really only 3 am? She heard a gentle gurgle come from the other room and she rolled out of bed and into the kitchen, making Jason a bottle.
"I didn't forget about you, baby." She whispered as she fed him and slowly lulled him back to sleep.
She looked at the man lying in bed for a moment to make sure he was still sleeping. She then quickly and quietly made her way to the porch swing baby still in tow.
Rocking gently she hummed to him as she looked up at the stars, which seemed to shine more brightly than she had ever seen them before.
"Hey," he whispered and she turned her head and smiled.
"Hey yourself, how did you know I was out here?"
"I couldn't sleep," he replied "went for a walk and I saw you come out."
She nodded her head and softly whispered "I couldn't sleep either."
He pointed to Jason and she nodded her head, shifting his weight into the man's arms and then leaning back on the swing setting it into a rocking motion.
"He sure is handsome."
She nodded her head softly smiling.
"Like his daddy," she whispered.
He looked at her smiling for a moment as he leaned down and softly kissed the top of the babies head.
"Can we put him in his crib and go for a walk?" he asked, "We really need to talk."
She nodded and gently lifted him out of his arms and made her way into the house, as quietly as possible.
"Horseback?" he asked and she smiled as she nodded her head.
She saddled up Wildfire in record time and quickly hopped onto his back waiting patiently for him to follow. As they moseyed along a comfortable silence fell over them.
After a few minutes they came to a clearing and they slowed the horses down.
"So," she asked "what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
--
He had tossed and turned in bed, but no matter what position he was in it just didn't feel right. Reaching over his arm met air and he sat up in bed and looked around.
Throwing himself backwards, he lay back down and gently let a poof of air escape his lips.
His entire body felt tired, even his mind, and he wondered how much sleep it would actually take to clear all the fatigue away.
He hated this. He hated all of this. She used to be able to tell him things; she used to want to tell him things. At least he thought she did.
He could feel his eyes turning to look at the empty pillow and he squeezed them tight. Something was going on that she felt she couldn't tell him.
What would it be?
He momentarily wondered if she didn't want to be with him anymore. Thinking about the nights events he instantly threw that idea out.
She looked sad, almost scared when she had come back. It had to have been about who she saw. He knew it couldn't have been Kerry but that still gave him little hope since so much of his memory was still gone.
He ran his hands through his hair and gently flipped onto his side. He had promised that he wouldn't ask her what was going on. That he could do. However no matter how hard he tried, he didn't know if he could really drop it entirely.
There had to be another way of finding out.
--
Matt lay in bed gently running his hand through Dani's hair as she slept. He thought about the mystery man that had showed up at Raintree and at least for the day, had flipped everything around.
Pablo's words seemed to echo in his head and he couldn't help but admit that he was surprised that Pablo had seen him before.
He was surprised because, in all honesty, he felt the same way. There was just something about the man that seemed so familiar.
He felt Dani stir next to him and gently turn to look at him.
"Your still up?" she asked.
"Just thinking," he replied "about today's events."
"Exciting weren't they."
He nodded his head laughing slightly.
"You can say that again."
"What about it are you thinking about?" she probed.
"The man in the car," he replied and watched as her eyebrows raised "I can't help but feel like I have seen his face before."
"Maybe the name will come back to you," she mumbled "sometimes that happens to me. Say I pass someone on the street and an hour later boom there is the name."
He looked at her and gently leaned down pecking her on the head as he smiled.
"Maybe," he replied.
"Hey Matt," she whispered.
"Yeah," he replied.
"With Kris having Jason here it is really making me start thinking about having kids again."
"Again," he stated teasingly "is there something I should know?"
She lightly smacked him on the chest as she smiled at him.
"Not what I meant, dork. We talked about it right after we got married but the timing never felt right."
"Does it feel right now?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied "you tell me."
He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips.
"I think," he replied "the timing is perfect."
--
"So," she asked "what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Well," he stated "there are a few things actually."
She nodded her head encouraging him to continue.
"I just don't know which to start with."
"Probably the easiest," she replied smiling slightly towards him.
"Well," he stated smiling back at her "you know Jean and I have both always considered you a daughter."
She looked at him, somewhat surprised at the honesty he was displaying towards her.
"Don't act surprised," Pablo stated "I think you have always known."
She nodded her head quietly remembering how he had taken care of her, helped her fit in.
"I have always made it a priority to take care of you since you came to Raintree and I am sticking to that promise, but I have to tell you Kris when you took off that was hard on us all."
She closed her eyes fighting back tears as he continued to talk, she knew this was coming but she had hoped in some way it could remain unspoken.
"Now that you are back," he continued "Jean and I were discussing the possibility of bringing you back to Raintree."
Her head jerked up to look at him, slightly surprised by the offer.
"You mean," she asked "You want me to start working here again?"
"Working, riding, eventually jockeying," he paused for a moment looking her square in the eyes "and living here."
"But I have a house, I mean Junior and I have a house."
"A house you haven't been to in days." He replied, "We have missed you and having you back has shown us just how much."
She could feel her hands shaking and the breath leave her. This was what she had wanted since the moment she had taken off so long ago.
"But," she stated "I have so many happy memories in that house."
He nodded his head quietly in understanding, gently looking at her.
"You can always make new ones here," he replied softly "with your family."
"Where would we live?" she asked trying to avoid the onslaught of tears she felt rising after he had called her family.
"The bunkhouse," he replied.
"But Dani and Matt are living there, we couldn't kick them out."
"Matt and Dani know and are perfectly ok with living in the house for awhile," he stated "until we can add on a second residence."
She thought about what it would be like to live at Raintree once again and see Wildfire every day. She had missed him and had missed riding him and the other horses. But thinking about her house caused a gentle ache in her belly and she knew it would be harder to leave the second time around.
"I need some time," she whispered.
"That is understandable," he replied.
"Was there something else?" she asked.
He cleared his throat and she saw him look up into the sky for a moment and she wondered if he too was admiring the stars.
"I'm really not sure it's my place, Kris, but that has never stopped me before."
She looked at him for a moment, wondering what he could be talking about.
"You and Junior seem to be moving awful fast and I just don't want to see you get hurt again."
She could feel an echo of shock shake through her body as she stood and looked at the man in front of her.
"Are you saying what I think you are saying?" she asked.
"All I am saying is that you need to be careful Kris. You two seem to be just jumping back in where you left off. He's not the same man and you're not the same woman. You need to take that into consideration."
"Memory or no memory," she stated strongly "that is my Junior."
"Kris," he stated "I didn't want to have to be the one to tell you this, but there is something that you should know."
She could hear his voice shaking as he spoke and she wondered what exactly he was talking about.
"Tell me what?" she asked.