Tears of a Cheetah by Clark T.M

Author:Clark, T.M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780645919257
Publisher: Wilde Press
Published: 2024-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

Tired but unable to sleep, Mackenzie was wrapped up in a tracksuit to keep off the chill. ‘Thanks,’ she said as Cole threw a soft blanket over her legs to cover her feet as she sat cross-legged on a lounge. She took a sip of her coffee from a mug, her hands enfolding the pottery to warm them.

A nightjar sang in the distance and wild animal noises echoed off the walls of the valley. There was a cough of a zebra close by and the distant call of a jackal. She looked out from the veranda across the inky-blue sky towards where she knew the majestic black mountains stood, then upwards at the stars. It was so bright up there and yet peaceful. She listened to the night noises, different to her city-girl upbringing.

Something sounded almost like a baby crying in the distance. A bug made a noise nearby; at least she hoped it was just a bug, and there were definitely other animal grunts and groans she simply couldn’t identify.

The conversation had turned to the ranch’s workings, including the security that Cole already had in place inside his electric game fence to protect his cheetahs and other game from being stolen. Neither mentioned that Lauren was still missing and Siphiwe hadn’t called to say she had returned home, but it was like a huge elephant in the room as she thought of it constantly.

Cole took a sip from his coffee, his eyes looking out into the dark night. ‘While I appreciate that you don’t want me involved in your life right now, I am. I brought you here to nTabaGrequa to keep you safe.’

‘You have it wrong. I do want you in my life. It’s just I had to work through the gaining-my-own-independence-and-finding-myself thing,’ she admitted. ‘Then I didn’t know how to reapproach the subject with you.’

‘I can understand that. And now?’ Cole asked.

‘Well, this living under your roof has happened quicker than I ever thought it would.’

‘The reason you kept your distance was because you didn’t want to lose your independence? Not because you were not attracted to me?’

‘Oh, the attraction is there, but I needed space to work things out on my own, then⁠—’

She saw him smile, and his dimples showed even in the low light.

‘So, no more secrets? Anything else you want to tell me?’ he asked.

‘Not that I know of. You have basically got my whole sordid history in one night.’ She sighed.

‘I get that with your experience with your father in the past, you might think someone else might try to exploit you again, but I want you to know that it will never knowingly be me.’

She nodded. ‘Thanks. That means a lot. I was worried that my true identity would freak you out, and you’d run a million miles in the opposite direction if you knew my background.’

‘You were wrong. We don’t get the privilege of living to our ages without some history behind us. It’s just part of life. You haven’t let

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