  As promised early Saturday morning Matt Hamilton was sitting on Marlo's front porch when she opened it to get the milk delivery. One thing she liked about living out on the farm was the milk delivery. It reminded her of stories her mother used to tell her of her childhood when the milk man delivered milk and the egg man delivered eggs and so on. Her mother said at least then you knew everything was fresh now you have to wonder how long it,s been on the shelf. When Marlo opened the door she was startled at first to see someone sitting on her porch then she was a embarrassed because she realized she was still in her pajamas. Matt stood up and tipped his hat to her as he said good morning.
Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you but we did say early and I forgot to ask what early was to you. She smiled at him, "Well to be honest with you Matt I've been up for hours working on my computer but haven't gotten around to gathering up the milk and taking a shower. Since she didn't have a robe on there was nothing to pull around herself so she stood there embarrassed to be in her pajamas but glad she didn't have on anything too sexy. It would have been too much so early in the morning. Please come in. No that's ok.
He put his hand up. I'll just wait for you here. It wouldn't look right if I came in there and you weren't dressed. Now Marlo looked puzzled as she looked around outside the house to see who else was there. Ok, so, who would know? There's nobody here for at least half a mile.
Well you never can tell. Like I said last night this is a small town and I don't want people to start talking about you. She couldn't help but smile because he was worried about her reputation and she thought she should be too since she was a teacher in this small town. She asked him to give her a few minutes to freshen up and then they could grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast before going off into the woods. Once again he tipped his hat to her, smiling after her as she closed the door. It didn't take Marlo long to get herself showered and dressed.
After all she had great incentive, Matt Hamilton. Although she couldn't figure out what brought him out here the night before. He never showed her interest in school and they really didn't know each other all that well. She couldn't help but think about that as she showered but she figured if she was ever going to figure it out she would have to get herself out there and talk to him about it herself. After all she was a modern woman in modern times, she could just come right out and ask him why all of a sudden did he decide to stop by and ask her out for ice cream. Marlo found herself rushing to get dressed but she wasn't sure if it was because she had someone waiting for her on the front porch or that some was Matt.
From the first day she started to work at the school she noticed him. You couldn't help but notice him he was just shy of six feet tall from what she could figure. He shaved his head bald and he had blue eyes. He always wore a cowboy hat that seemed to bring out the beauty of his eyes. She never really talked to him except to say good morning or have a nice night. He was well fit but from what she understood from the ladies in the school he loved to go for long walks and he often went hiking and running.
She got the impression, from the other female teachers, he was a loner. As he said this is a small town and people love to talk. It's one of the great past times. It seems young Mr. Hamilton, as some of the older teachers have referred to him as, was in a relationship with his childhood sweetheart until about three years ago. Then one day she just up and left. Without so much as a "How do you do.
" Since then Matt has kept to himself. Oh the ladies have tried to set him up from time to time but nothing seemed to work. He just wasn't interested. They were starting to wonder if he was a "real man" or if that was the reason Susie Macintire left. Marlo tried not to listen to the stories but it's hard when people seem to want to tell you even if you don't want to hear it. She could only imagine what they have said about her situation and why she was now living here.
When she was finally ready she went to the front door to let Matt in. He stood as the front door opened and then didn't move. He just stood there starring at her. Marlo didn't give herself much credit. As a matter of fact she blamed herself for her breakup the previous year. She believed if she just lost those extra ten pounds or so, maybe changed her hair, fixed herself up more, maybe then he would have stayed around.
Oh, her ex told her it had nothing to do with her but she didn't believe him. When Marlo looked in the mirror she didn't see the beauty that Matt was looking at right now. Marlo Ventura stands about 5 ft.. 5 in. tall. Her hair has always been short because she hated fussing with it. It wasn't cut as short as a mans of course but she kept it nicely styled and it had a sort of bounce to it.
She was proud of the fact that it was her natural color Auburn. Most people asked her what she used in her hair and when she told them it was natural they really didn't believe her. Her eyes were green and showed every one of her emotions. Right now with Matt standing there starring at her in her blue jean shorts, blue and white tee shirt, and sneakers she looked a bit confused. Matt must have realized he was starring and apologized,"It's just you look nice. I like the outfit.
" He shuffled his feet a little. She smiled as she opened the door wider giving his access to the house. As she was about to close the door she saw her neighbor Mrs. Wallingsworth near the lake. She must have decided to go for a swim with the kids and take in a little sun. Of course Mrs. Wallingsworth, Shirley, couldn't wait to let Marlo know she noticed her too. She waved to Marlo calling out to her, "Have a nice day.
" The sound in her voice was most insinuating. "You know that grapevine we were talking about earlier? " She asked Matt as she closed the door. He nodded his head yes as she showed him into the kitchen. "Well I think it's about to ripen. I'm sorry Matt but Mrs. Wallingsworth was at the lake and saw you coming in here.
Now everyone is going to start talking. " He smiled at her, "Let me worry about what they have to say and if it's something I don't like I'll take care of it. Of course, if you hear something you don't like just let me know and I'll take care of that too. " Marlo laugh as she got each of them a cup of coffee and offered to make him some breakfast. He was more than happy to give her a hand so together they whipped up breakfast sausage, eggs, and toast to go with that coffee. While Matt was having breakfast he took in surroundings.
He liked what she had done with the place. His Aunt had always had the place so frilly but not Marlo. She gave it a homey touch but yet it wasn't overly feminine. He liked it. To him it was a place a man or a woman could call home and he let her know. "I feel a home should be some place you could feel comfortable in.
Not some place where you have to walk on egg shells and be afraid you are going to mess things up or knock something out of place. " "We should get going. It's getting late and we told the ladies we would give them a call early if we found anything. " Matt followed Marlo out of her house and past Mrs. Wallingsworth and her family. Matt tipped his hat in respect as he past her and took hold of Marlo's arm. "You're horrible you know.
Just give her more to report. " She couldn't help but laugh as she and Matt headed out towards the treed area just off the lake. As they entered the area where they found the girls the night before Maria stopped and searched. Looking around as if she was expecting to see someone there. Although she didn't she felt as though there was someone or something there. The same feeling she gets when she sees her Native American riding high on his horse.
She feels him before she sees him. She didn't say anything to Matt. As a matter of fact he just followed her quietly. He seemed to be watching her close. Maybe he thought she was off her rocker and he wanted to make sure he knew exactly what she was doing at all times, Marlo wasn't sure as she continued up the path. "I thought maybe we should check out the top of the cliff first.
" Matt didn't answer he just followed her. TO BE CONTINUED........... 
