Chasing The Sun

Chapter 14 - Memory Loss?

It was dawn when Amada felt the first rays of the sun radiating on her nude chest. The sensation was delicious, she was feeling like a cat awakening from a winter afternoon nap behind a window facing West. Her hands quickly moved on herself, realizing for the second time in as many days, that she had probably slept naked with Tom close-by. Her mind felt cloudy, as if still half-asleep with an incredible difficulty to remember where she was.

Looking around, she noticed the quad parked against the same tree she was laying under. She vaguely recalled they had had troubles getting the heavy machine to start, which would explain why they were still here in the early hours of the day. Sitting up, she noticed Tom down by the creek. She looked around for her clothes and quickly put on her little dress. Her hair was a mess but obviously it didn't matter much right now, no social events to attend in the near future. She stretched for a few minutes and started scampering towards Tom by the small stream of water. She felt happy but couldn't really tell why.

As she got close to Tom, she decided to kneel down and approached him silently, hiding among the tall grass. She surprised herself moving like a lionness on a hunt as she stopped within a few feet from Tom. He was squatting close to the water, washing up, when Amada jumped out of her hiding spot and pushed him in the water playfully.

"Ahoy, Matey!" Amada managed to shout before bursting out laughing.

Surprised at first, Tom quickly jumped out of the cold water and started running after Amada. In his wet pants, there was no way he'd catch up to her and her long strides, so he quickly gave up.

"I will get you, Missy" Tom said laughing. He ran back uphill and quickly dried himself up in a blankie as Amada was cautiously getting closer.

"I'm sorry, Tom, but this was just too tempting to pass." She managed to say in between loud laughs.

"Guess what?" Tom said as he was putting his shirt on.

Amada looked at him, apparently still in a playful mood. "You're splitting from the band?" She asked him with a smirk.

"Precisely!" Tom replied almost instantly. "I'm going solo." He said very seriously.

After ten long seconds, Amada started wondering if she had indeed, against all odds, guessed right.

"Ha ha got you!" Tom exclaimed. "No, silly, I'm not going solo. The quad has power. I didn't start the engine since you were sleeping, but I realize now I clearly shouldn't have shown so much concern."

"So we did end up sleeping here for a reason!" Amada barely whispered. "Well, we'd better gather our stuff and get going before that steel thingy has another change of heart." Amada said in a louder tone.

By mid-morning, Tom and Amada were back at the barn. After parking it inside and locking the tall wood structure, they headed towards the mansion's front door and, to their surprise, a woman was sitting on the stone stairs. She stood up as they approached and presented her hand and greeted Tom first.

"Mister Parker, I am Maddie Caroline, from "The Company". We spoke on the phone the night you arrived."

"Yes, Yes! I remember." Tom replied after a brief effort of focusing. "hum, is anything wrong?" He asked, wondering why the woman was waiting for them in the first place.

"Oh, Goodness no!" Maddie said. "I didn't mean to give you that impression at all."

As Maddie and Tom were talking about the house and amenities on the property, Amada couldn't help but feel strangely about the young woman standing in front of them. She was absolutely gorgeous but just didn't fit the job. Something about her made Amada a little uneasy, as if she had met that woman before but couldn't remember where or when. She was still daydreaming when she realized Maddie's hand was extended towards her as she heard Tom talking and looking at her.

"Amada? Are you ok?"

She looked towards Tom and then quickly back at the hand in front of her.

"Miss Guardiola, I am Maddie Caroline, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Amada finally accepted the hand and shook it as Maddie's eyes were locked into hers. Her grip was comforting and Amada felt a sensation of warmth invade her as the hands were connected. For no particular reason, Amada instantly liked Maddie and all uneasiness seemed to vanish the second the handshake ended.

"As I was explaining to Mister Parker, The Company sent me to make sure you two were having a wonderful time here at Casa de Pecados." Maddie repeated for Amada.

"I will be staying at the guest house on the other end of the property for a few days since I am working on an upgrade for the ranch, so I wanted to introduce myself and let you know I would be delighted to help with any request you may have during your stay here."

The young woman produced two business cards and gave one to both Tom and Amada.

"Mister Parker just brought to my attention that you had an unfortunate incident with one of the quads and I will make sure it will be addressed." Maddie stated very professionally.

"Miss Guardiola, is there anything you feel is not satisfying to you?" She then asked Amada.

Amada didn't really see how anything could be better but felt that the situation could use a little bit of humor so she replied with a smile.

"I noticed a pool but forgot to bring a bikini. Is skinny-dipping allowed on the premises?"

She could see Tom's eyes double in size as she finished her question and loved how she managed to shock him. Maddie Caroline, on the other hand, remained very business-like as she quickly answered.

"Miss Guardiola, this house allows you any liberty you may want. Nude swimming is certainly tolerated during your stay."

Amada saw a spark in Maddie's eyes and caught her glancing at her little black dress. She remembered now that she was wearing nothing else underneath, but for some odd reason, she didn't mind feeling Maddie's eyes on her. After holding the lady's stare for a few seconds, Amada turned to Tom and asked.

"Well, Mister Parker, you heard Miss Maddie, let's head to the pool!"

Amada made her way towards the front door, passing very close to Maddie and instantly taking in a strong scent that she had been exposed to only once before in her life!

It was a few years back when her mom took her on a charity trip to southeast Asia. They had spent a week visiting orphanages when she was in her early teen years and had discovered a lot of misery there. For some odd reason, Maddie Caroline brought back vivid memories of that time.