Summer Down Under (15 page)

“Sam?” She heard. “Samantha? I’m sorry,
sweetheart. I have to wake you up now, Mother’s orders.”

“What?” she grouched, unable to hide being
annoyed at being woken up and having to deal with the pain in her
jaw again, “Why?”

“I need to make sure you don’t have a
concussion. Mum says I have to wake you every hour to make sure
you’re not unconscious,” he explained.

Sam started to open her eyes again, pushing
back the thought that she would like to show Daniel what a
concussion felt like. This time, it wasn’t just her jaw and head
that ached, it was her whole body. She also realized that she was
still in the clothes she was wearing when she got injured. She was
filthy, covered from head to foot in dust and muck. Sam felt
disgusting.

Daniel was standing over her, his face inches
from hers. She could feel his hand softly stroking her cheek. It
took a few seconds to focus, but, eventually, her eyes fixed on his
intense gaze.

“There you are,” he sighed with relief as he
saw her eyes focus on his.

Tears welled up again. She tried biting them
back, but it was no good. A few escaped down the side of her face,
probably leaving track marks in the dirt that she could feel there.
Sam admitted that she could be quite pitiful when she was feeling
sorry for herself, and, right then, she wanted more than anything
to have a bath.

It would make her feel so much better, but
she knew she couldn’t manage one on her own. She also knew that she
couldn’t let Daniel help her, and Mrs. Miller would be in bed by
now; it must be nearly midnight.

“Hey, you,” Daniel whispered. “Please don’t
cry. It makes me so sad to see you cry.”

Sam bit back her tears, and after a couple of
moments, managed to push herself up to a sitting position. She was
still fairly dizzy, but it wasn’t as bad as before.

“I would die for a bath right now,” Sam
finally admitted.

“Well, that’s easily solved.” Daniel smiled
and turned towards the door that led to our bathroom.

“No, it’s not,” Sam blurted.

He stopped and turned back “Why not? I can
run you a bath.”

“I don’t think I can take one by myself. I
don’t think I can balance.” Sam looked at him, tears pricking the
backs of her eyes again.

“Well, I’ll help you. It’s no problem.”

“No.” Sam mumbled, hanging her head to look
at her knees.

Daniel kneeled in front of her. Very gently
he eased her chin up with one of his long fingers until her face
was directly in front of his. Fear hit her in the gut. She couldn’t
bring herself to look at him.

“Sam, look at me,” Daniel requested, warmly.
Sam slowly, warily, brought her eyes up until they met his. “Why
don’t you want me to help you?”

Tears were tumbling down her cheeks as she
replied. “Because I couldn’t survive the look of disgust in your
eyes if you saw me with no clothes on.”

Sam’s heart started hammering in her chest.
That was the first time she had ever given anyone a glimpse of the
pain she felt inside. She couldn’t pull her tear soaked eyes away
from Daniel’s. Her whole body and mind had gone numb. She watched
as his eyes, usually so full of life, filled with sadness.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what you must
have been through to say something like that,” Daniel murmured as
he cupped Sam’s soggy face in his warm hands.

Sam stared at him, unable to move. She should
have kept her mouth shut. He didn’t need to know, nobody needed to
know how she felt. It was something that should be kept locked away
inside and never let out. Why did she have to meet someone like
him? Someone that she could not resist having feelings for. She
wanted to be left alone. She didn’t need the complication of
someone else in her life. Someone who, if she let them in, would
have the power to crush her heart again. She knew without doubt
that it was not strong enough to survive a second round. Now all
she was worried about was that she’d ruined everything. That he
wouldn’t want anything to do with her now; he could see she was
broken.
Why did this have to happen just when she was
beginning to enjoy the way she felt when he was near?

A moment passed; although, it seemed like a
lifetime. Suddenly, his expression changed and he smiled.

“Right then,” he said, standing up and
pulling her gently with him. “We’ll address this issue later, but
right now, we need to get you in the bath.”

“No way! Didn’t you hear me?” Sam cried. “I
can’t do it. You can’t make me!” At that moment, fear had her in
its embrace and Daniel could see it in her face. She pulled out of
his grip with a forceful jerk. She stumbled and sat back on the
bed. Daniel’s expression changed again from cheerful to serious in
a split second.

Sam dropped her focus to her knees.

“Sam, listen to me.” Daniel shook her gently
by the shoulder. “Look at me,” he said.

She brought her focus up to meet his intense
gaze.

“I wouldn’t ever do anything against your
will, Sam, ever!” he exclaimed. “Whatever you went through at the
hands of someone else, will
not
happen with me. I promise
you.” Daniel paused a second to make sure what he was saying was
sinking in before he continued. “Sam, not all men are jerks. You
have to believe me, and you have to trust me.”

Sam looked at him, desperately wanting to
believe him even though fear had her held fast in its steely
grasp.

“There is more than one way to skin a cat,
you know.”

Sam raised her eyebrows and gave him a look
that showed she was listening.

“I have an idea how you can have a bath and
still feel safe,” he started. “I promise I will only intervene if
you fall unconscious or hurt yourself, but you will have to promise
to talk to me the whole time you are in the bath. Is that something
you would feel comfortable doing?”

“You mean you won’t see me without any
clothes on?” She asked sheepishly.

“No, sweetheart. I won’t see you without any
clothes on, unless you want me to. I promise.” A smile crept across
his lips.

Sam’s body relaxed and her mind started
functioning again.

“How do you propose we do that, then?” she
asked, desperation for a warm bath taking over now.

“Well, I’ll start the bath for you. Then I’ll
come and help you off with any clothes if you need me to. I’ll
stand outside the door until you have finished undressing and put
on your bath robe. Then I’ll help you to the bath. If I put a chair
next to it you’ll be able to sit down if you start feeling wobbly,
but you should be able to get in okay. There is one condition,
though.”

“You never said it came with conditions.” She
cast him a wary glance.

“Everything comes with conditions,” he said,
shooting her a wry smile.

“Alright, what is your condition?”

“I have to be in the bathroom while you are
in the bath...”

“No way!” she cut him off again.

Daniel held his hands up. “Let me finish. You
can’t see through the shower curtain so when you are in the bath,
pull the shower curtain across. I’ll come and sit on the chair and
we can talk the whole time you are in there. That way I’ll know
you’re okay. That’s my final offer, take it or leave it.” He
finished talking and looked at her, waiting for her response.

Sam thought about it for a moment. A bath
would do her a world of good right now, and she believed Daniel
could be trusted enough to keep his word. Hadn’t she been alone
with him for hours at a time before now? He had never tried
anything untoward, why would he start now?

“Okay,” she said, a smile creeping its way
across one side of her face. The other side was too swollen to
move. “That sounds good.”

Daniel smiled back and let out a sigh, “Good.
You’re one tough cookie to bargain with.” he said, before heading
for the bathroom. Sam could hear the squeak of the taps as he
turned them, then the inviting sound of gushing water hitting the
enamel tub. A minute later, Daniel returned.

“Right, so what do you need help with?” he
asked.

“Please, could you put my robe beside me?”
Sam pointed to where it was hanging on the back of the door.

“Anything else?”

“Um, I could use some help pulling my socks
off. Every time I bend over, I feel really dizzy and nearly fall
off the bed.”

“Done,” he said as he kneeled down in front
of her.

He picked up her right foot and rested it on
his knee, running his hands up either side of her ankle until he
reached the top of her sock. His fingers ran along her skin as he
pulled the sock down, sending ripples of electricity up her leg to
her very core. Sam shifted slightly, a bit uncomfortable at her
body’s response to his touch. He pulled the sock off and returned
her foot to the floor.

Daniel looked up and smiled. “One down, one
to go.”

Sam returned his smile.

Daniel did the same with the other foot. The
familiar feeling shot up her leg again and parts of her warmed up
considerably. She could feel her cheeks redden at her body’s
response to Daniel’s touch. It was completely beyond her control,
but if he noticed, he didn’t let on.

“Right, then,” he said, after returning her
left foot to the floor. “You’re on your own for now. I’ll be
outside if you need me.”

He stood up and was almost through the
door.

“Daniel?” Sam whispered.

He stopped and turned. “Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“No worries.” He smiled and closed the door
behind him.

The only piece of clothing Sam had trouble
with was her jeans. She wiggled around on the bed for a bit and got
them to her knees. From there it was plain sailing. Sam didn’t dare
stand up on her own to push them down as she was still pretty
wobbly. She felt a pang of chagrin at the thought of her body not
being able to do what she wanted it to. It made her very uneasy
when she wasn’t in control and had to let someone help her do
something as simple as taking a bath. Sam took a couple of moments
to take a few calming breaths to steady her nerves and sighed with
resolve.

“I’m ready to be escorted to the bathroom
now,” she said in jest when she had her robe tightly wrapped around
her. Hoping that he wouldn’t hear the abject fear she was trying to
subdue that lay just beneath the surface.

Daniel came in and offered his arm for her to
lean on. She accepted it.

“Your bath awaits, my lady,” Daniel
joked.

Sam tried to laugh but pain won out, and she
winced instead.

He held out his arm like a true gentleman and
she wrapped hers around it. She moved slowly, every step making her
head spin. Sam was relieved that Daniel was so patient, allowing
her to move one small step at a time as she clung to him with all
her strength.

“You’re doing great. How do you feel?”

“Dizzy,” Sam replied, looking straight
ahead. If she turned her head, she felt like she would pass out
again.

“Nearly there,” Daniel said as they reached
the bathroom door and he held it open for her.

As promised, he saw her safely to the
bathroom, and then left her alone to undress. The chair was a good
idea; she sat on it to take her robe off and hung it over the back.
Steam wrapped around her like a warm blanket. With caution, she
stepped into the warm water. Once in, Sam grabbed the sides of the
bath and lowered herself until her body was almost fully submerged.
A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips. The warmth penetrated her
aching muscles. She couldn’t remember when a bath had ever felt
this good.

After she pulled the shower curtain across,
she realized Daniel was right. You couldn’t see through it. She
hadn’t noticed that before, hadn’t needed to. Safely enclosed in
her little cocoon, she felt comfortable enough to let him back
in.

“You can come in now,” she called.

The door opened and clicked closed behind
him.

“Well, what do you want to talk about?” Sam
asked.

“Anything you want.”

“Do you think your dad will fire me now?”

“What? No, of course not. Why ever would you
think that?” Daniel sounded surprised at the question.

“Well, I’m obviously not much good with
sheep, am I?” Sam replied, heavyhearted.

Daniel was starting to break through her
heavily reinforced brick walls. Although, she was nervous about it
at first, she was beginning to like the feelings she had around him
and didn’t want to have to leave so soon.

“You had an accident, that’s all. It wasn’t
your fault and, if anything, he should be apologizing to you for
asking you to do something you had no experience with. But, I’ll
warn you now, I don’t think I’ve ever heard my dad apologize for
anything, so don’t hold your breath.”

A moment passed in silence, and Sam’s eyes
grew heavy. She could feel herself start to drift.

“Anyway,” Daniel started talking again
bringing her back from the edge of sleep with a start. “Mum
wouldn’t let him...” he paused, “...not now that she knows how I
feel about you.”

Sam tossed that statement around in her mind.
She remembered hearing their voices in her head earlier. Of course.
The penny dropped, and her eyes widened as the conversation
replayed in her head. Daniel was telling his mother that he cared
about her. He wasn’t just after one thing, he cared about her.

Butterflies started dancing in her stomach.
She had pushed him away ever since they met, and he kept coming
back for more. He cared about her, that was why.

Sam smiled and thought about that for a few
minutes. Now she had to figure out how she would ever pluck up
enough courage to let him closer. She wasn’t sure she even knew how
to love. What she had experienced with the only other man she’d let
into her life, certainly wasn’t love.