Footprints At Dawn (Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-One

I sat cross-legged on the floor of our room at the inn, my back leaning against the foot of the bed. Teddy was curled up on my lap, his eyelids struggling to stay open as I softly stroked his head.

"Are you all tuckered out from gnawing on your bone for several hours, hm?" I was enjoying our alone time. Not only was I not ready to say goodbye to Nicholas, yet, I also wasn't ready to say goodbye to this little one.

I hoped Rose's idea would allow me to stay in Launceston a little longer, as long as Nicholas was all right with it. I hadn't seen him again since our argument in the morning. I got Rose to drop me off at the inn after our talk so I could check up on Teddy. We'd been gone for such a long time, I didn't want him to think we'd left without him. But Rose's father assured me he was well-behaved and was no trouble at all.

Teddy and I both turned our heads towards the sound of the room's squeaky door handle, followed by Teddy letting out a small 'ruff'. I panicked, realising I had forgotten to lock the door after coming inside, but then sighed with relief when Nicholas walked in. I noticed he was holding a fairly large parcel, wrapped up in brown paper.

"Thank goodness," he said after spotting me on the floor, then stepped towards me.

"Nicholas? Is everything all right? Your father..."

"He's fine," he replied, preventing me from having a second panic attack that day.

"Then why are you here and not there? You said you didn't want to leave in case he asked for you."

"You've been gone for such a long time. I thought maybe you'd... left. I didn't want our argument to be the last thing we ever said to each other." He threw the parcel onto the bed and joined me on the floor. That made Teddy all wiggly and excited, and Nicholas reached out to give him a neck rub. "I want to apologise. I was a fool to think I could do this on my own again. But when I saw him lying there... and the coughing... all these old feelings and memories came flooding back. The sadness, the pain, the anger... It was as though I had converted back to how I was before I met you." He took a moment before speaking again and I waited patiently for him. "But I don't want to be that person again. I can't. I realised I need you, Matilda. I sat there alone for hours under that tree and I was miserable. All I wanted was for you to be there with me to hold me and comfort me. I waited for you to return, but you didn't, and that's when I panicked. The thought that you may have left without saying goodbye... I got up and ran. I ran so fast down that bloody big hill..." That made me smile. "So I could find you and tell you I'm sorry. And to ask you if you'll stay. Stay as long as it takes. Please."

I reached up and caressed his cheek with my thumb. "How could I say no to that?" I whispered, then I leant in to kiss him softly on the lips. We lingered there for a moment before reluctantly parting.

"We still have Doyle to worry about," he said.

"No, we don't," I said firmly. "We will worry about Doyle if and when he shows up on our doorstep. For now, we forget he exists. Besides, Rose and I came up with a good idea to keep me out of trouble."

"Speaking of Rose, I ran into her on my way here. Literally ran into her. Well, almost. I was running down the middle of the street like a lunatic, my mind elsewhere, and I didn't even see her and her buggy coming straight for me. And, well, I nearly ran straight into her horse." I laughed, imagining it in my head. He reached up and pulled the parcel down off the bed. "She said I should buy you this, but I'm not sure if I need it now, as you forgave me."

"What?" I asked, with a confused look on my face.

"She said if a husband wants to increase their chances of their wife forgiving them, then they should buy them a gift to go along with the apology. So here you go."