High Country Christmas

Chapter Seven-The Confrontation (Ali's POV)

The day had gone well. By the time I was lifting in the last of the tables, and had set the buffet exactly where Shirley had instructed me, the smell of food cooking, in the kitchen at The Mill restaurant, had started to waft out through the large room, and could even be enjoyed way out on the wide stone patio and steps, with a coffee drink in my hand.

After a cold one, I had taken a run up to the Cairn and back, in just over an hour and a half. It really took it out of me, but needed to, I had so much going on in my head, I felt like checking out for a while and I did as the pain of my muscles on the mountain run pushed me to my limit. Once I got back I decided that short of going to look for Sascha, there wasn't much left for me to do. My hair had been bugging me for a while, so by searching through the bathroom cupboard, I found an old hair cutting hand tool.

I grinned when I thought how much it looked like a sheep shearing hand piece. It buzzed away in my hand, but for me to use it I had to hold the power button on and push it through my mop, and being able to co-ordinate this wasn't as easy as I first thought. "Hell," I muttered, now that I had started I was committed because it looked a little too modern for me, having the track of a hair shaver showing up the side of my head.

Just then the bathroom door pushed open and Sascha froze in the door way. After a few seconds delay, I realised that half her hair was curled and held by something, the other half was down, looking like she too was still in the process, but she clearly needed the bathroom. After a muttered,"Sorry," I started trying to push the hair on the floor into a pile, ready for me to give her the space. "You can come in and use the bathroom, I  will just get this up  and move out of your way."

Remembering how we had left things earlier, I sighed, I really wasn't doing well this summer. I needed to try and avoid her, but also try not to offend her, and be so rude. My mother would be horrified if she knew how I had spoken to her.

All the while, Sascha had not moved from the door way, like she was trying to put together what it was she was seeing. Then moving into the small space, she put her body right in front of mine, with the bath behind me. "Sit," she said, pointing to the corner of the bath.

Then she reached out and took the shaver from my hand. "This old thing? You really got it working? I could go and see if Daniel has a more recent model if you like."

"No way. This is fine." I barked. So much for parking the rude attitude, now perched on the edge of the bath I looked at her puzzled.

"So really? You want to take it all off at this length? Isn't this like a number one or something?" I shrugged my shoulders. Sascha took a while looking at the machine and checking how to turn it on. "I will do it for you if you like."

"Sure." With sitting on the edge of the bath, I was able to look up slightly and look her in the eye. She reached her hand out and touched my head, gently at first, then turning the machine on she moved it up through another stroke. Having done all she could reach, she stepped into the empty bath and moved behind me. I enjoyed the feel of her pressed against me, and doing this for me, although I would never admit it to anyone.

"Right," she said from behind me, "Style decision here. My choice, not yours. I will do this length all around the back of your head, but not across the top. I will put one of the attachments from the drawer on and leave it much longer on top."

While she had been talking she had been touching and playing with my hair. Closing my eyes I simply nodded, she would have far more idea than I would, anything shorter than it was at the moment would be fine. She stepped out of the empty bath and moved over to the drawer. The silence stretched between us. I am not much for conversation,  I felt strangely comfortable with the silence between us. Looking up at her, she still had on the dress she had worn today, but had  started doing her hair and make up for the night across the lawn at the Mill. She seemed so sweet, and lovely, I wondered if one of the brothers, Franco or Lucas had asked to take her tonight.  I didn't know the guys well, they were too talkative and boastful to be good company as far as I was concerned, so I had avoided them.