Promises in Moonlight

Part 44

"Evie, can you pack for this weekend?" Seth was at the kitchen sink, rinsing plates before stacking them in the dishwasher. He looked over his shoulder and waited for her response.

"Sure." Evie said automatically and nodded. She kept washing the counter top using a damp tea towel, despite there was nothing to mop. She looked over at him, "But Tina no doubt would want to pack her own stuff ...."

"Tina is not invited!" He grinned. "Just you. Can you pack for this weekend." His lips twitched when he saw her reaction. It was obvious that she did not expect him to arrange something for just them. Since their wedding, any plan involved the girls and usually his grandmother.

"Me? Just me? You want me to pack for the weekend?" She blinked and stopped dragging the tea towel over the top of the counter and looked over at him. "Me?" She asked again. Evie brain was in a whirred. The fact that he was suggesting this, made her uneasy.

"Yes." He grinned.

"Oh." She frowned. "Why?" 

His smile grew, and quirked a brow and said, "I thought we could have a long weekend away! We are married, remember!" And he waited to see how she would react to that statement. He knew he had a lot to do to recover, no, not recover, to re-establish their relationship. It was obvious, that she thought this relationship was short-term. When she had told him that, ten days ago, he thought she was talking like that because of the bull event. That she was upset: That he put his niece welfare before his wife and the fact that he assumed it was her fault the bull was in that paddock. But over he last ten days he was paying more attention, and was noticing that she was reserved. She would talk, and would help, but at the back of his mind, he was sure she was detached from the situation. Then he realised it was because she saw her as a boarder, not family. She lived at the house that they shared, but not as family, just a lodger. And it was obviously she was keen not to put any anchors to anchored her to the house or the family because she was convinced this was temporary. Seth wished he could see her father, as he wanted to show his father, he lost a wonderful, kind, beautiful daughter.

Evie blinked. "Us? Are you sure? Just me and you? Going away for the weekend?"

"Yes, Evie." He put the last plate in the tray and closed the door to the dishwasher. 

"But what about the girls?"

He rubbed his hand on the towel, and then moved towards her. "Gran said she will manage! And I think, you think our relationship is a short term..."

"Of course, I know it is short-term" She sighed and her shoulders shrugged. She moved away from him and went to the sink where she rinsed the tea towel and draped it at the oven handle, and spread it to help it to dry.

Seth moved and tracked her. "You are wrong, Evie, and I am going to show you this relationship is permanent. And while I know I have a lot to do to show you, that you and I belong to each other!"

Evie snorted. "And you think a long weekend away would sort that?"

"Yes. If we take time for us. To date, we do things for the girls. We need to spend sometime together. I want to spend time with you. Just you. Not to discuss what we are going to do with the girls, or where to take them, I want to spend time with you. " He folded his arms and leaned his hip against the counter top.

"I see." She looked at him. Her world was spinning. "And where are we going?" She wondered whether to remind him that she does not have the wardrobe for a posh weekend.

He was pleased with his plan. He had taken time to come up with plan, he knew she would cite that she didn't have relevant clothes. But, going camping, she could wear her jeans, jumpers, and her farm boots. "I thought camping!"

"Camping?" She blinked. And like a balloon poked by a needle, automatically deflated.  "You want us to go camping?" 

"Have you camped before?" he wondered whether her reaction was because she had not experience. No doubt, she did not do the school camps probably because she could not afford it.

Evie snorted. Typical, she thought. Just to make things worse, she asked, "Where?"

"Where?"

"Yes. Where do you want us to go camping?" She folded her arms and wondered if he had plans to take her overseas.

A shame that his plans did not include research about her previous holidays. "Up the gorge. I am told you can camp there."

"I see." What shame, she thought, local. She banked her sigh and reminded herself that he was suggesting a trip with her, not the whole entourage. Surely that is progress, her heart sought advice from her brain.

"Have you ever done wild camping?" As if he was explaining to a toddler, he said, "We just take a tent, sleep bags, and provisions to last the weekend. We can drive, I have found a perfect place. I am sure we will find something to do when we are there."

Evie chuckled. It reminded her of her holidays. When her mother was alive, she would ask Sam and Elsie to mind the farm and for their holidays she and Evie would camp up the gorge. So Evie was pretty sure she could show Seth was available there, as all her holidays, which were just weekends was spend at the gorge.

"You do have boots? Or you can wear the boots you use at the farm." He wondered, would she accept, if he bought new boots for her? His eyes watched her eyes and wondered why she was smiling.

"Yes I have boots, Seth." She said, "And yes, there is lots to do up the gorge. There is a small oxbow where you can swim. It is beautiful. Clear water. Normally warm. And if you really want exercise, there is a circle route, hiking over the..."

"You have done that?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Yes." Evie nearly laughed when she saw his reaction. "My summer school holidays were spend up the gorge. We would go up on Friday and come back on Sunday."

"Two nights." He scowled. "Evie you do know that the Summer school holidays is two months."

"Yes. I know that." She knew the Summer holidays meant she would be working every day.

"And you holidays was just two days and both days were spend at the gorge." He rubbed the back of his neck.

She thought she should explain, as it was obvious he was not happy that this escapade was not a new experience for her. "Yes. My mum and I would go. Sam and Elsie would stay at the farm and, well, just to make sure the farm was ok, and we would be away for the weekend. We would swim and hike and cook what we caught!"

"And that was your summer holiday?"

"Yes." She folded her arms. She thought he was feeling sorry for her. 

 His eyes narrowed again. But as her words registered in his brain, he knew the answer to his question, "Did you, ever, have holidays away from here?"