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It was miraculous. Matt could actually feel his life changing for the better. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that he would be spending four consecutive days with Darcy. Even when she slept, which was often, he couldn't bear to leave her.
Matt watched her sleep for hours, half in a dream state himself.
It was the strangest thing. He was certain that if he were to tell anyone about it, they would assume that sex had been involved. But the truth was that it hadn't been.
Matt was blissfully happy just to have Darcy sleeping soundly next to him and to hold her close. Darcy seemed to want no more than that, indeed, to be happy with that, and that was plenty for him.
She must have slept eighteen hours a day for several days. Even when she was awake, she was drowsy and soft, not the determined, resourceful person he’d known before. He wondered if other Olympic athletes were similarly recuperating. Probably not—which of them had expended more energy over that two weeks?
Matt loved being this close to her. It was inexplicable to him that she seemed to enjoy his company. He wouldn't have dared commit some indiscretion which might ruin things for both of them. His eventual newspaper story now looked like a certain career-making bombshell, but now, nothing was more important than being with Darcy.
He had no idea what Rhoda Williams thought they might be up to, but that lovely, blessed woman seemed delighted to match make and share secrets with both of them. She had an amazing repertoire of gossip about people Matt had only read about or seen on television. He and Darcy learned to look forward to mealtime at the Bar-S not only for the wonderful food but for Mrs. Williams' stories. Tired as she was, Darcy ate twice as much as he did.
Mrs. Williams assured them that no one would know the famous Olympic super-athlete Ana Darcy had stayed there, not until Ana said it was OK, and Matt believed her. Mrs. Williams dearly loved secrets, and at the moment she was sitting on what was probably the world's hottest secret.
She'd even called Crusty and convinced him that she needed Matt to do some reporting for her and the paper for several days, and that if Crusty didn't agree when it was all done, she would pick up his salary.
Matt could have kissed her; in fact he did kiss her. She laughed and said that being kissed by such a handsome young man made it all worthwhile.
On the morning of their second day at the Bar-S, Darcy had asked to use the telephone. When she returned, she seemed oddly excited. Mrs. Williams asked her if everything was all right.
"Oh, yes, ma'am. Everything's fine. I have an interview in San Antonio the day after tomorrow."
"Oh, my!" said Mrs. Williams. "An interview! I thought you were going to stay out of sight. Have you changed your mind?"
"No, ma'am. Not really. But I really need to do this. After it's over, I hope I can still sort of hide out somewhere."
"Bless your heart, dear, I know you do. I haven't bothered you with how much you have been mentioned on television the past few days. I'm sure you don't need to know that, but if you wanted, I believe you could be the biggest celebrity in the world right now."
"Yes, ma'am. But I don't want to be. It scares me, actually."
"I don't blame you a bit! I know it sounds strange coming from me, but sometimes I think peace and quiet are the best things in the world."
"Yes, ma'am. I agree. I used to have lots of that. But I don't anymore—at least not before you let me stay here. This has been wonderful."
"Now, you just don't even mention that, child. You are always welcome here. About that interview—it's in San Antonio?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, shoot! That's a long way, and my husband is off with our plane, and the one you came in isn't here either. Why don’t I call the airport and get a charter flight for you?"
Matt interrupted. "That's all right, Mrs. Williams. I'll be happy to drive her there."
