“Cindy, this house suits you. It belongs to you, too. I don’t want to be here anymore without you. Will you move in?”
The question came too quickly. Cindy’s mind began racing. Was he serious? She’d hardly spent any time in her own home since Clint had died. This past year and a half it had just been her and Mattheus, traveling, working on cases. The small home she had back in Cove Bay waited for her. Nothing in it had been moved or changed since Clint had died. Even though she’d hardly spent a night in it, she’d kept it as a place to return to. One of these days Cindy thought she’d grow tired of solving cases, would be ready to return and start a new life. Would it be possible to make a life down in Grenada? Was it too soon to move in with Mattheus?
“That’s quite an offer, Mattheus,” Cindy’s eyes opened wide.
He smiled, his beautiful blue eyes glued to her deeply.
“Move in with me,” he said, in a husky tone.
Cindy knew Mattheus was restless, impulsive. He’d feel strongly one moment and then something else would come up.
“I’m not changing my mind about this either,” Mattheus added, as if reading her thoughts.
“This comes out of the blue,” Cindy laughed.
“Not really,” said Mattheus, “I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while.”
“Well, I’m glad you let me in on it,” said Cindy.
“It makes sense,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “We fit together in every way. We’re better people with each other, we’re smarter, stronger.”
Cindy’s heart began pounding. He was right, they were better with each other. And what was really left back home to return to? Cindy was happy at Mattheus’s side. She loved working with him, sleeping with him, talking, travelling. What was there to lose? She took a deep breath and prepared her response.
CHAPTER 2
“Why not?” said Cindy, amazing herself, “let’s give it a try.”
Mattheus grinned and grasped her hands tight in his.
“Fantastic! That’s what I love about you—you’re gutsy and daring,” he said. “I never know what to expect. Do whatever you need to really feel comfortable here. Make this your home, too.”
As the first step in making this her home, Cindy had to do some decorating, take old things down, bring in new touches.
“Just go slow,” Mattheus pleaded. “This is my life you’re re-arranging.”
“What about my life?” Cindy joked. “I’m moving in with you. My life’s not only being re-arranged, it’s being pulled apart at the seams.”
“And put back together in a way that’s far better for both of us,” Mattheus reassured her.
Cindy always loved the way Mattheus took a sensitive moment and put it in a larger context. It made her feel safe and understood.
“I’m going out to work in the shed in the back now,” he said. “Just remember, I love you, Cindy.”
She took a deep, swift breath. It was startling and wonderful to hear him say it so casually and naturally in the middle of an ordinary afternoon.
“I love you, too, Mattheus,” Cindy replied.
Mattheus went outside and Cindy browsed through the rooms. She loved the new rhythm that was forming between them, easy, relaxed, homey. She hadn’t realized how much she craved this unstructured time together. It was creating a new foundation for their relationship, one they could both depend on.
Cindy went into the bedroom. It was clear that the first changes had to be made there. The photos of Mattheus and Shelly were everywhere, with hardly any space between them. There were pictures of them in all kinds of settings - at home, in parks, boats, parties, smoky night clubs. It was as if Mattheus had captured every moment of their lives, not willing to forget anything.
At first Cindy couldn’t look at the photos closely, it was painful to see someone else in Mattheus’s arms. But she had to clear them away, decide which ones to pack, and which to leave around. She went over to the end table first, took the framed photograph of them and looked at it closely.
Shelly and Mattheus seemed enormously happy together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing. It seemed as if neither of them had a care in the world. Life must have been good to them, then. They looked as if they were riding a wave that seemed to be going in one direction only. The idea that the wave would crash at the shore and low tide come in seemed to be the furthest thing from their minds.
Cindy remembered Mattheus telling her that he and Shelly met soon after college, and from the first day they got together were hardly ever apart. When they married he was working in his own business as a court reporter in New Orleans, and she was studying to become a counselor.