The Road Back by Liz Harris

Author:Liz Harris [Harris, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical
Publisher: Choc Lit
Published: 2012-06-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

August

Patricia sat on the wooden chair in the downstairs room, her rucksack at her feet. She could hear the sound of her father moving around in the room above her as he packed for the overnight trip to the high pasture. She sighed inwardly. He’d soon be down, probably at about the same time as Kalden arrived, and then they’d set off. And as with every other day since her father had started coming out with them again, she and Kalden wouldn’t have any time by themselves.

Several times in the first few days after her father had starting joining them on their trips again, she’d come very close to telling him how she and Kalden felt about each other, but she’d always stopped short at the last minute. Her every instinct, born out of years of living with her father and getting to know the way in which he thought, made her suspect that he might be horrified at the idea of a relationship between his daughter and someone who came from a world so different from theirs.

However, she’d finally decided that she needed to take the first step towards introducing him to the idea of her being in love with Kalden, and one evening she’d hesitantly suggested that they ask Kalden to share their meal the following evening.

‘He’s a pony-man,’ he’d told Patricia sharply. ‘He’s a pleasant man and a useful companion on our trips in that he’s well-versed in the flora and fauna of the area, but he’s essentially an uneducated man. One doesn’t invite people like that to the dinner table.’

She’d swiftly turned away to stop her eyes from revealing the anger she felt, and the sudden fear.

Any lingering thoughts she’d entertained about telling her father that she and Kalden were in love had disappeared in that moment, and she’d settled for making the most of the few moments together that she and Kalden could snatch. Being able to walk along next to him, to think about him and to know that he was thinking about her, was better than nothing – it made her feel alive, made her feel loved. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was all that they could safely have.

The thud of something falling on the upstairs floor cut into her thoughts. It was followed by an exclamation of annoyance. Her father must be making heavy weather of packing his things, even though this was the second overnight trip that they’d undertaken since his foot had been better, and their first one had been much more ambitious than this.

Their first overnight trip had lasted for three days.

‘My foot is clearly back to normal,’ the Major had announced one evening at the end of a visit to Alchi. He’d held out his leg and flexed his foot. ‘We’ve been limiting ourselves to day trips for long enough now, and I feel that I’m ready for the challenge of going further afield.’

‘This is good, Major-le. You want me plan a trip that takes two

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