Close Your Eyes (8 page)

What
am I
thinking?
This is
Matt
, for god’s sake.
He
’s
still
Ry’s
little brother, even though
he’s
now half a head taller than his older brother.

‘Yeah, fine
,
’
she
answered as
he walked
across the
opening in the
hedge, his stride smooth and purposeful. His olive oilskin jacket glistened with the droplets of rain
. A
fine sheen of moisture darken
ed
his strawberry
-
blond hair and
clung
to his surprisingly long eyelashes.

‘What are yo
u doing here in this weather?’ H
e
stood
next to her, his blue eyes confused. ‘I mean, the rain is only going to get worse,
Meg
.’

She
laughed
. It was just too precious, listening to
Matt
chatting about weather when her world was falling apart. She didn’t even notice when her laughter turned
to sobs. O
nly the taste of her tears alert
ed
her to the fact
that
she was on the way to completely falling apart
, a
nd in front of her boyfriend’s brother
,
too. His
expression
changed
from confusion to concern.

‘Hey
, what’s wrong?’ he asked again, his hands coming to rest on her shivering shoulders.
‘Come on, tell me.’

Why the hell not?
I’m
past the meaningless pleasantries that seem to be a rule in the
Harper
house.
She couldn’t imagine any of them bursting into tears like
this
, no
matter
what. Elisa’s face
,
serene and absolutely in control even as her messy divorce became public knowledge,
came to mind. But she was an actress
.
It must have been helpful to be able to act after finding out her husband
had
cheated on her,
despite
her own
liaison
with her
co-
star.

Well,
Megan
wasn’t an actress
. H
er few parts in school
plays
were the total extent of
her acting career. The thought brought her back to Ry
an
,
and the way he could
perfect
ly
portray whatever character he had to play. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, mixing with the cold
rain that
left her cheeks numb.

‘
Ry
…
we had an awful row
,
and he
left, and I don’t know what to do
,
’
she
mumbled, her voice breaking miserably as her teeth chattered. ‘God, I made such a mess of things,
Matt
.’

‘Don’t
beat yourself up too much
.
’
Surprisingly
gentle, he stroke
d
her hair
with
his large hand
,
warm and slightly rough. ‘
Whatever
it is, things will be just fine. I know it
,
Meg
.
Ry
cares about
you far too much to do anything stupid.’

It was easy to melt into his embrace, her cheek resting against the coolness of his
olive
-
green jacket. He smelled
good,
she thought absentmindedly
as
some of the misery that gripped her after Ry
an
’s departure
dissipated
. His arms went around her, protecting her from the rain
. She found his
steady heartbeat under her cheek
oddly reassuring.
T
he rhythmic
movement of his hands against
her back
lulled her into a hazy peacefulness
.

He feels different than Ry
.
He was somehow more
solid and large
r
, his broad chest a perfect place to rest her tired head.

S
he listened to his voice telling her not to worry.
Letting her guard down and feeling close to him was very easy,
and
she clung
to this sensation of peace and safety.
It must be the fact that he’s
Ry’s
brother.

The
irony of
the
emotions he evoked
was
not lost on
Megan as she began
to think clearly
again
.
Matt
was not even remotely peaceful or safe
;
that much had been established over the last few years.
T
he whole town knew about his wild streak
. His
teenage rebellion
was the
topic of many conversations
within the
community. God knew he
had done
enough stupid things to provide them with plenty of material
.
Unlike Ry
an
,
Matt
caused his family enough grief and
embarrassment
to last
a lifetime.

And yet, as he smiled down at her in the pouring rain,
Megan
felt
that his deeds painted
a
distorted and incomplete
picture
.
The
sincerity and warmth in his
eyes
made her trust him,
and she was
grateful for his presence.

‘Let’s get you inside,’ he offered, his eyebrows rising at her panicked expression. ‘Heck, no, I don’t mean taking you to our lair,
Meg
.
Just the little house next to the outer stables.
It’s not much, but at least it isn’t raining in there, and I can fix you a cup of tea.’

She was glad she had taken some basic horseback riding classes as he
helped her mount
the large animal he had been
riding. In
an instant, he was behind her, his large frame close enough
that she
could
feel his warmth. He
steered
the horse to
wards
the house in the distance
. The house was b
arely visible
through
the swirls of fog rising from the cold grass.

‘
This is
the fastest way.’ His voice was very close, his breath tickling the hair on her neck. ‘
You
look like you could use some warming up,
Meg
.’

He was right. In minutes, the small house
,
surprisingly solid despite its previously phantom-like appearance,
materialized in the mist. The walls were made of grey stone
. T
he green window shutters and green slate roof add
ed
to
its
old-
fashioned appeal.
The house
perched on the side of the
stone
wall
that divided
the paddocks from the large open space meant for the horses
’
exercising
grounds
. She
thought she
had seen it before
;
Ry
an
had showed
her around a long time ago. The grounds of
the stables and training fields
were just like everything else the
Harper
s owned
. She had been
dazzled by the vast expanse of the land and
its
level of luxury,
which was
visible to her even at her naïve, young age.

Matt
seemed oblivious to the beauty of
the grounds
as he led the horse to the large enclosure, patting
its
neck before letting
it
go.

‘Have some fun
.
’
H
e grinned at
the animal,
which
bent its large, heavy
head and nuzzled him gently,
its
intelligent
eyes watching
its master
with uncanny wisdom.