Chapter 4

Mmmm. It's so warm. Kali thought as she started to wake up. Gentle nudging had roused her from her sleep. Squinting, she made out Ethan's figure. She said,

"I think I like taking naps in this valley." He smiled at this comment. Earlier when they had finished eating, both had laid down on the picnic blanket spread out beneath them. Although Kali made sure they were no where near touching. While they had lain in the sun talking Kali had drifted to sleep. Now it was around 45 minutes later and Ethan had to wake her up.

Ever since the kiss she had shared with him she had been a little more talkative. However, she had avoided the subject of the kiss at all costs.

I am so stupid, she thought. I can't allow myself to get close to him. Stupid stupid stupid! Although this scolding was working, a small voice in her head told her it was ok to be this open.

Unaware of the emotional battle going on in Kali's head, Ethan told her,

"I think it's time we get back, I have some work for you to do." Fantastic, she thought. I won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow, I'll be so sore. But I bet he didn't get so strong by sitting and watching other guides the whole day. He was looking at her expectantly for answer.

"Alright... let's go. I can't wait to do more work." She said sarcastically.

He smiled, "It's the great pleasure of being my ranch hand."

God! Shut up Kali, she thought. She was so mixed up around him. I try to be all reserved. But with him I feel completely exposed. It's like he can see through me. Maybe I should give it up already, she thought. While her mind quarreled good from bad she folded the picnic blanket with Ethan.

Why can't I be myself for once!? I've been hiding from everyone for three years! When she had been in high school she had been very popular her freshman and sophomore year. She had been told she was pretty many times, and numerous boys had asked to date her. Wanting to stay free and 'play the field' Kali hadn't agreed to anyone. At the end of sophomore year Kali had been invited to a graduation party. That's where she had met Craig. Craig had been a senior at the time. That night her life was changed when he raped her, and left her in the woods. She holed herself up after that, too scared to let anyone in. She cringed; she didn't know what to think around Ethan, especially after such an event had occurred. But she couldn't stop herself from talking to him. She wasn't scared around Ethan, just... unsure.

They walked over to where their horses were grazing. She couldn't help but look at the way he walked. He was silent, but the soft fall of his footsteps could be heard. She hadn't said anything about their kiss a few hours before. It was a slip up she hadn't meant to do. She absolutely hated the fact that by a simple glance she could be rendered speechless. She hated it most of all, because she couldn't do anything about it.

She watched as Ethan put the horses bridle's back on. They seemed very calmed by the quiet valley. Without hesitation they let Ethan's gentle hands put the bit in their mouth. He led Summer over to Kali once he had tightened the girths on their saddle's.

"Want a boost up?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want me to help you get on?" Ethan laughed.

"Oh... Yeah sure."

"Use me as the mounting block." Ok was it just Kali or did that sentence sound weird? She stifled her laughter. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to giggle. He realized that what she was laughing about and smiled back at her.

"Get your mind out of the gutter! Geeze!" He teased.

"Ok, ok but you have to watch what you say." Kali smiled.

Bright reds, oranges, and pinks delicately painted the sky as Ethan and Kali arrived back at the barn. She hesitantly got off by herself this time, without Ethan's help. She could hear the loud voices in the kitchen already. Her stomach made it know, quite loudly, that it was hungry. She ignored the sound. However, Ethan did not.

"Go ahead and eat." He told her quietly. "You need to eat more. I'm not going to keep you from a meal." Yes, it was true she did want to eat, but she almost felt obliged to stay because this was the first day of her job. And of course, it would give her more time to spend with Ethan.

"No... I think I'll stay, I can't leave early on my first day of the job."

"It's alright, I want you to eat. You can leave." He instructed gently. He widened his eyes and pouted. A perfect puppy face. How could she argue with that? She didn't know how she did it but she did.

"That's cheating! I'm going to stay here with you until the work is done." She shouted at him playfully.

"Fine. Fine." He sighed in defeat. "You win this time. But I want you to eat tonight."

"Ok! Sheese. I will."

He looked over at her as she put the nightly grain out for each horse. The clothes she wore didn't cling to her; they were actually rather large on her small figure. The ridiculous thing about it is that the clothes were already very small, and filling them out wouldn't be a bad thing. He chewed on his bottom lip. Oh god, I can still feel her lips, if I think about it, he thought. He desperately wanted to kiss her again, but decided it was not a wise thing to do. She clearly regretted kissing him in the first place. He hid the hurt he felt when he realized that. She dusted her hands on her jeans and walked to his side.

"What next?" she asked.

"Nothing we're done." Ethan answered.

Kali had insisted doing all of the work with him. Although she had taken longer, and was not as educated, he had stuck with her and patiently answered her questions or corrected her if she was wrong. Because of quite a few misunderstandings it had taken him longer than usual to get the horses ready for the night. He motioned for her to follow him out of the barn. They walked silently by each others side as they walked toward the kitchen. The loud conversation that had taken place earlier had died down, now only a few quiet voices spoke. Kali walked into the kitchen and Ethan followed behind her as she went in line. He intently watched her take some spaghetti, and salad.