The Heartbreaker's Home

Chapter 6

The First Gift

Kelsey cursed for the fifth time since they had started the hike up the mountain, groaning as he muscles screamed at her. The sun was just beginning to break across the horizon, gracing all of Redwood Cree with a golden glow that woke it's first residents. In front of her, her boyfriend stopped, grinning his usual crooked grin down at her, extending a hand down for her.

"C'mon, it's not that far away. Let's go! I promise. It'll be worth it."

"Why did I agree to you again." Kelsey whined, taking the offered hand and clambering up a particularly steep rocky crevice to continue on their way again.

But Declan had yet to lie to her yet, for just ten minutes of trudging up the winding pathway, sure enough the ground began to flatten and Kelsey muffled a gasp as they broke the last of the pathway and her eyes were graced with the view of the town they had grew up with, the golden sunrise glinting off a nearby lake. "You have a thing for sunrises and sunsets don't you?"

"Everyday is a new beginning, and every night brings the promise for a new day." he replied from behind her. Turning around, Kelsey widened her eyes when Declan held forward a handful of wildflowers, arranged in a passable bouquet. When she looked up at him, he offered a sideways, uncertain smile. Even after two weeks of dates, Kelsey's heart melted whenever she saw the strong, powerful quarterback of their town, so confident in his swagger, completely lose his arrogant persona around her. 

"For me?" she asked cheekily. He chuckled, and nodded. 

He had expected her to take it from him, but Declan never expected Kelsey to instead grab it, and then jump to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her body against him in a tight hug. He laughed, catching her to prevent them both from rolling down. With his arms tightly wrapped around her torso, he murmured in her ear. "What was that for?"

She shrugged. "I just felt like it." Kelsey replied, cocking her head when she felt Declan swaying side to side. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing."

She laughed. "To what?"

"The sound of this." He picked up the hand that was not holding the wildflowers, and pressed her palms against his heart. "A sound I hope you can always hear, as I hear yours." 

---

Ever since the day I had helped Ayah babysit the very first time, I had been back a few times to see the girls. The boys couldn't be bothered on my presence... well, all except one. I still blushed each time Ayah nudged at me, but Jamie had begun picking me up from classes every other day when he could get away from his job. True to his word, he had brought me to the creek behind the Beckett barnhouse once, where he had told me about his job as a horticultural engineer at a farm nearby the Beckett household. Occasionally, we would hang out at the household, as he babysat while Ayah worked, and more often, he would ask me to play on the piano, in between our conversations of varying topics. Something about the way Jamie's eyes lit up whenever he talked about something he was passionate about was intoxicating.

Ayah was thrilled of course, that her brother was actively pursuing me, and teased that her brother had never even picked her up from classes before.

"I'm jealous. I'm supposed to be his sister, and he's never even offered." Ayah had mock whined during lunch the other day. I had laughed, picking at the cold mash that had been offered a the lunch counter. It had been a little over three weeks since then... almost a month since that disastrous conversation with Declan. I would be lying to say I didn't think of him, or even sneak a glance at him during hallways, but I had kept my distance.