“Right, well go for it. I’ll put the kettle on.”
Tension still hummed through Darcy’s body, but when Lara slipped her hand into his, he turned his attention to her. Matt handed out towels and Darcy wrapped one around Lara’s shoulders. “Are you hurt, pumpkin?”
She held out her wrists, which had red chafe marks. “Only where Jay tied me up.”
He pushed down his anger. “Right, well let’s get you showered and warm. I bet Dot makes a mean hot chocolate.”
“I do,” Dot assured her.
Lara held her hand out for Faith and the three of them went into the bathroom. Faith turned on the shower to heat while Darcy confirmed Lara hadn’t been physically injured. While she showered, Faith fetched her warm clothes and then they accompanied her back into the kitchen. “Will you be all right with Matt and Nhiari while Faith and I have a shower?”
Lara shifted closer to him as she stared at Jay.
“I’m sorry, Lara,” Jay said.
“I can take him outside,” Dot offered.
“Can I wait in the lounge room with Matt?”
Matt stood before Darcy could answer and held out a hand to her. “Of course. Want a game of snap while we wait?”
She took his hand. “Maybe.”
Darcy followed them down the corridor and heard Lara ask, “Will you tell me what’s really going on, Uncle Matt?”
Darcy sighed. He would have to tell her everything. She deserved the truth after her ordeal. Faith waited for him in the bathroom. She’d prepared a pile of clothes for them both, but he ignored them and instead pulled her into his arms. She fit so perfectly.
“I’m OK, Darcy.” She stroked his back, and he realised he was shaking. “We’re all OK.”
“I was terrified,” he admitted. “First that Lara would die, and when I saw her I was so relieved until she told me you’d disappeared, and then the terror started all over again.”
“I knew you’d come for me,” Faith said.
He closed his eyes, rested his head against hers. He’d had three chances to save her, and he’d stuffed the first two.
“Come on. We both need to get warm.” She stepped away and turned the shower on. Then she stripped off her wet clothes.
He hissed. A dark bruise covered her side and her chest. He brushed his fingers against it. “What happened?”
She looked down. “It must have been the tree that hit me and stuck me in the cave.”
She would be sore for days. Faith stepped into the shower and he stripped and followed her in. The hot water hit his chest, and he flinched.
“What’s this?” Faith said.
A red cut ran across his chest. “Same tree,” he said. “Put up a fight when I cut it free.”
He pulled her against him, and they stood under the hot spray warming up. She was alive, warm and safe in his arms. His eyes closed as the spray rained down on his back. She’d risked her life to save Lara’s. The enormity of it was too much for him to comprehend right now, but one thing he could grasp. He didn’t want her to ever leave. “Marry me.”
Faith gasped and stepped back. “What?”
OK, he could have been smoother with the delivery. “Marry me,” he repeated. “I love you, and I was as terrified of losing you as I was of losing Lara. That’s how much you mean to me.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head, and he froze. He’d rushed things, ruined them. Stupid. He shifted away from her and her eyes flew open. “Ask me again in a few days, when all of this mess is behind us and when we’re both not full of relief that we’re alive.” She smiled at him. “Ask me after you’ve spoken with Lara and made sure she’s happy with the idea. And then I’ll say yes.”
Happiness filled him to bursting. “I’ll do that.”
Chapter 17
