Chapter Two

            As the first light reached the cabin, Dawnrae rushed to finish her morning chores. It was a hot summer morning so she ran off to a small creek for a swim. As she was undressing, she caught a glimpse of William and quickly hid behind a bush. She wasn’t ready to see him again, this soon after what they had done. As William inched past her, she held her breath. He jumped at the bush, scaring her. She fell backwards and twisted her ankle. “Are you all right?”

            “Yes, sir.” She tried to stand but fell instead. “Maybe not. My uncle isn’t going to like this.”

            “Does he have to know?” William looked at her as if he was serious. He began to undress.

            “I can’t believe you would suggest a thing. I could never lie to him. He’s been taking care of me since my folks died.”

            “Oh, wow, I had no idea. Do accept my dearest apology, my lady.” He picked her up and carried her to a tree that had fallen over. He placed her on it and sat down next to her with his bare chest taking most of her attention. “Hey, maybe the cold water would help your ankle feel better.”

            “It wouldn’t hurt I guess. I’ll give it a try.” William picked her back up and carried her out to the water. He waded through the creek until he was waist deep and lowered her into the cold water which felt refreshing on the hot day. Dawnrae was surprised she hadn’t tried to hide her body from him. Her knots were gone and her heart beat seemed to return to normal as they stood there in the water. Their eyes locked into place as they discussed normal things like it was normal to be naked.

            “I can’t believe the heat today.” He rubbed her shoulders as she stood before him.

            “Yes, I know. I hurried to get my chores done so I could enjoy the cool water this morning. Now I’m glad I had, sir.”

            “So am I. I’m still sorry about your ankle. I only wanted to scare you, not harm you.”

            “It’s not even hurting anymore. I think I’ll be all right.” They spent the rest of the morning wading and splashing in the water. As the birds chirped in the surrounding trees, they talked and splashed in the water. Dawnrae looked up and noticed that the sun was straight above them. “Wow, I didn’t realize the time. My uncle should be getting home soon and I need to be there when he does. I had a great time though.”

            “And so have I, My Lady. We should do this again soon.”

            “We can do something, I agree, but nothing that includes twisting ankles.” They both laughed as they approached their clothing. William grabbed his shirt from a pile on the ground and dried Dawnrae’s skin off with it. Then he put his clothes on. After the two were dressed, William walked Dawnrae back to the cottage. Her uncle wasn’t there yet so William stole another kiss.

Dawnrae had no problem letting him steal that kiss as she kissed him right back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She heard a twig breaking and jumped away from William, and looked towards the trees. When she saw her uncle she felt relieved and the knots in her stomach slowly unraveled.

“Oh, hello, Child. While you’re here, give me a hand.” He gave her a large bag and she took it to the cottage where she plopped it into the sink. She opened the bag and found a fox. She turned around and saw William talking to her uncle through the open door. She snuck up to the door and listened to the conversation. “Two days in a row, William. Is there something I should know about?”

            “No, sir. I was taking a walk and bumped into Dawnrae and offered to walk her home.”

            “Oh, I see. Was she picking flowers again?”

            “Yes, she was. She must really like the meadow.”

            “Dawnrae loves the meadow. Her mother used to take her there all the time when she was alive.”
            “Were they close, sir?”

Dawnrae pulled away from the door when she heard William ask about her mother. She couldn’t bear to listen. She was close to her mother, quite close. She held her hand when she died. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, letting her mother pass away. When Dawnrae looked out the door again, William had left and her uncle was chopping wood which was something he always did. She thought he enjoyed it.

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