Falling For Her Dream

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

She could feel that familiar chill below her bare feet of the damp wet sand.  The sun still hadn’t risen and there was a cool breeze gently blowing her hair off her neck.  She could see him in the distance as he turns his head in her direction.  Her heart pounds for him, she longs to feel his confident and protective embrace, but he remains too far away from her.  She feels disappointment and heartbreak.  He turns away and looks out over the ocean, like she didn’t mean anything to him.  She looks out across the ocean but dares for a moment to look back at him.  He’s gone.  She looks around and she’s all alone.  She sits on the cold wet sand and looks to the water’s edge.  A voice in her ear whispers, “Did you have sweet dreams?”.  It wasn’t his voice; it was someone else.  The voice is sat beside her and he now touches her knee.  She turns to see his face.  Its Ryan, his face is clear, and his smile looks like he just won a prize.  He leans in and steals a kiss.

Abby woke to her heart pounding and a horrible feel of guilt washing through her.  The dream she just had scared her awake.  She quickly rationalised the dream to be her body rebelling from a lack of male companionship.  Yes, she thought, that had to be it!  But at the same time, she was heartbroken over Kristopher.  In her dream, he didn’t seem to care about her anymore, just like in real life, he didn’t care either.  She still wished she could see him again, but wishful thinking leads to broken dreams, like the one she just had.

She felt a little awkward on the drive out to the Grand Canyon, but thankfully Ryan had stopped showing any signs of flirting.  Now it was Abby that couldn’t stop seeing Ryan in her dream.  The kiss was nothing like a Kristopher kiss, passionate and addictive.  In her dream, Ryan’s was more invasive, unexpected and regrettable.  Its one thing she hoped would never be repeated, in her dreams or her reality.  With Abby able to sit back and relax for the drive to the Canyon, she took control of the stereo and began to load one of her favourite playlists.  Alli was singing in the back, making Ryan and Abby laugh, but it was catching and soon all three of them were singing along to the upbeat tunes.

Max was already waiting for Ryan at Bright Angel Lodge and they both left within minutes of a quick introduction and goodbye to Abby and Alli.  It was just Abby and her daughter again, so they entered the lobby of Bright Angel Lodge and headed straight to the check-in for their mule ride into the Canyon that was to begin in the morning.  Once they were weighed in, given their instructions and small bag to pack, they checked into their room for the night.  There was just enough daylight left for a walk around the area and take in the spectacular view of the Canyon.  They even saw a few squirrels bounding around, making people laugh and stealing food that would drop as tourists ate their takeaway dinner looking out to the Canyon below. 

The next morning, all decked out with their half chaps, ‘cowboy’ hats, riding boots and looking like they really know what they were doing, Abby and Alli made their way to the corral where the mules were, all saddled up and ready to head to the bottom of the Canyon.  After a round of introductions, some safety tips, dos and don’ts, they were off down a very narrow path to the bottom of the Canyon.  Abby wasn’t keeping an eye on the time but just as Alli thought they had reached the bottom, around another corner, she turned to Abby and said, “Holy Crap!”.  They were probably only halfway down, the Canyon dropped away again, and it looked like the drop went on forever.

On the drive out to the Canyon, Ryan could see how much Abby was able to relax and just be herself.  Now at his Aunt’s property, he thought about calling Kristopher and giving him a piece of his mind.  How could he abandon such a beautifully spirited woman such as Abby?  She deserved so much better.  He was sure there had to be a reasonable explanation for Kristopher’s actions, but from the little Abby spoke about it, she seemed to be clueless as to why he’d left her as well.  The situation was puzzling, but Ryan was quite fond of Abby and now he found himself wanting to demand answers from Kristopher.  He had little time left on his schedule before New Year, but he decided on night one with his Aunt and cousins, once he drove Abby back to Las Vegas, he would be on the first available flight back to L.A and he was going to confront Kristopher.