Page 24 of Electric Kiss

All their lights were out.

“That’s Archer, Erica and Isobel’s home. Mine is the fourth one down.”

He craned his neck to see into the darkness. “Can’t we get any nearer?”

“No, this is where the buggy track ends.”

“What about your feet? These cottages are huge. We have at least another few minutes until we get there.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Daisy. I’m walking you to your door so you get home safely.”

“How will you get back?”

“My legs are fine. I’ll walk back.”

“All right, well, let me take these sandals off, maybe the swelling is causing the pain on the straps.”

Daisy sat on the back bench facing out of the buggy and pulled on the strap to unbuckle it. She wailed at the pain and then sagged with relief when the buckle opened. Her feet seemed to swell more once she’d removed her shoes.

She gingerly stepped off the buggy and moved to the side where Nate was still sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Okay, I can hobble just fine,” she said.

“I could carry you?” Nate said.

“Not after a dislocated shoulder, and a sprained wrist.”

“Good point. What about a piggyback?”

Daisy eyed up the distance, then looked to Jason’s cottage, which was also in darkness and decided it might be her only option.

“All right,” she said.

Nate grinned, moved off the seat, and then into a crouching position, putting his bad wrist in front of him and his good arm out to catch her. She gazed at his back and then at his face looking at her over his shoulder, and moved forward. She put one hand on his good shoulder and then hopped up. He caught her with his good arm and cradled her backside in his hand to shift her up his back. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, she managed to lock her ankles.

“My, my, it’s like being a giraffe up here. I can see so much. Is this what it’s like to be super tall. Does it snow up here in the winter?” she said, placing her hands on his head to sit up higher.

He rewarded her comments with a tap on her bottom with his fingers as she bounced along. A giggle erupted as she squinted to see as much as she could in the night. Luke’s place was in darkness too, but then so was her place. Theycould all have been at the pub for all she knew, but then they would’ve invited her.

“Shit,” she said and tapped his shoulder.

“Is that command to make me stop?” he said incredulously.

“Yeah. I left my handbag in the buggy. We need to go back.”

“We’re nearly there. Why don’t I take you around the back, sit you on the armchair and then I can go back and get it.”

“All right. Sounds ridiculously sensible. I quite like it up here,” she said, keeping as much pout in her voice as she could.

Nate chuckled as he took the side path to her cottage, placed her on the back patio furniture, and then dashed off. She laughed for a moment and then turned solemn when it dawned on her why they were in this predicament. Her feet were scalded from her episode, and she had no way to control them. Nate had lied to her about spraining his wrist, making her feel foolish for helping him. But most of all, she couldn’t get out of her head his kiss settled her, and she couldn’t remember how it felt because she was out of it in an internal panic.

“Hey,” Nate said, coming to a stop in front of her. He was on his knees, cupping her cheek while he checked her over. “I was gone for like three minutes.”

“I’m okay, spacing out, just realised that I dropped the dinner over my feet because there is something buried deep in my head, and I’m not sane enough to work it out.”

“Hey, Daisy, you’re not alone in this. So many people have PTSD for all kinds of things. Stop beating yourself up. It will come out when you’re ready. The fact that you’re having these flashes says you are getting ready to let it out.”

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