True Art

Chapter Seventeen

REMINGTON'S POV

There was a thick film on the top of the soup, and I stared into it, my mind blank from thinking of what had happened. Dragging myself away, I tidied the rest of the plates into the sink and wiped the counter with the tea towel. I just needed to keep busy, and Matthew would be back at any moment.

Only, I'd been telling myself that for over an hour. When was a suitable time to panic? Because I was starting to lose my patience and close to driving up the trail to find him.

But I didn't, not wanting to seem possessive or clingy. Matthew had probably gotten sidetracked, sketching some view or chatting to some hikers he'd met on the walk.

I paced the kitchen, circling the table a few times, and then the sound of the backdoor unlatching made me sigh with relief. He was back. See, nothing to worry about.

"Hello? Remington, you home?"

Disappointment hit me, and I waved Sean inside. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

He smiled, looking around the room, and I knew he was searching for Matthew. "You on your own? I just thought I'd drop in some veg. We had extra carrots."

I smirked and nodded for him to sit. "Extra carrots? Really? You know, in the forty years that we've been friends, you've never once brought me vegetables."

Sean grinned and shrugged. "What can I say, there's a first time for everything. So, where is the lovely young Matthew? Sorry about yesterday. I should have, uh... knocked. But in my defence, I wasn’t expecting you to have him laid out on the table."

My cheeks felt hot as I remembered Sean walking in on us, Matthew lying on the table as I stood mid-undress.

"It's fine. We were just..." I started laughing and grabbed the kettle, filling it at the sink. "Tea?"

"Please."

"Matthew's not here. He went out for a hike this morning, and he was supposed to be back for lunch. But he's late."

The whine of the kettle unsettled me, and I paced back and forth. Something was wrong, I could sense it.

"Did you try and ring him? He's probably just lost track of time. You know what those trails are like. So many different paths."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just panicking. I sent him a couple of texts. I didn't want to ring in case he thought I was checking up on him."

"Aren't you?" Sean said, giving me a knowing look.

He was right, but I didn't care. I was concerned about Matthew. I'd invited him here and now he was missing.

"I'll try calling him."

"Yes, I think you should."

I grabbed my phone and walked to the kitchen window, staring out at the garden and listening as the phone rang out. "No answer."

Sean sat up and leaned his strong arms on the kitchen island. "Try him again."

Three phone calls, all unanswered. Now I was really starting to worry.

"When was he due back?"

I looked at Sean, wishing he didn't look worried too. "He should have been back by midday and it's after two now."

"Right." Sean straightened up, his strong shoulders stretching the tattered work shirt he was wearing, and he grabbed his keys from the counter. "That's long enough. Let's go for a drive."

We drove in silence, me staring out the window, afraid we'd come around a corner and find Matthew collapsed on the road, or worse. I don't know why my imagination seemed so intent on torturing me, but the closer we got to the start of the trail, the more scenarios I'd thought up.