41 A Day in the Kerr Residence [End]

The horse and two children traveled off the beaten path in the countryside. Kate noticed that the trail they were following was far away from the main road. However, she wasn't worried. She was confident that Ethan knew where he was going and that was enough.

After half an hour of cantering, Kate felt that the path they were traveling along was starting to ascend. It was a slow ascent, but she could smell the air getting fresher. A few minutes later, Casper led them to an open clearing and what Kate saw blew her breath away.

They were on top of what seemed to be a hill that was overlooking a valley. Kate's gaze sparkled as a scenery worthy of a fairy tail appeared before her eyes. The valley was filled with a wide variety of flowers with different colors, and they were in full bloom.

There was also a wide river that was flowing steadily at its center, which gave it a strikingly picturesque appearance.

Ethan was grinning at her and his eyes were filled with pride. This was his most favorite place in the countryside, and he was confident that there was no better view than this during this time of the year.

Kate fell silent which was pretty unusual for her. Even Stella looked at the view in awe. The two girls had never seen something as beautiful as this in their thirteen years of living. Both of them realized that the world was filled with surprises waiting to be discovered.

"Ethan, thank you," Kate said with a genuine smile on her face. "Thank you for showing me something so beautiful."

"You're very welcome."

Ethan wanted to tell her that she was more beautiful than the view, but it sounded so cheesy that he decided to toss the thought away. There was a time for everything, and now was not the time to be cheesy.

"Do you want to dismount and take a closer look at the flowers?

"Can I?"

"Of course you can," Ethan answered. "We can stay here for a while so take your time and have fun."

"Mmm!"

Casper walked and stopped beside a large rock perfect for dismounting. Kate held onto Ethan's waist as she dismounted in order to support herself. Once she was safely on the ground, Ethan followed suit and allowed Casper to roam freely.

He was not worried that Casper would leave them, so he allowed him to idle around. Kate happily ran in the valley of flowers. She was surrounded by wild tulips, violets, purple orchids, crocuses, and daffodils. Ethan watched her from a distance as he casually picked a few flowers along the way.

The surroundings were filled with a flowery fragrance and Kate didn't dislike it. She even actively smelled some of the flowers to know the difference between their scents.

There were also butterflies that hovered above the flowers and some of them flew around Kate. Their wings had different colors that didn't lose to the beauty of the flowers that surrounded them.

Time passed fleetingly and after Kate had her fill, an hour had already passed. She looked around in search for Ethan and found him in a small clearing in the multitude of flowers.

The boy was busy making a wreath of flowers while humming a tune. Since she had nothing else to do, Kate plopped beside him and laid on the grass.

She watched the clouds in the sky and breathed in the fragrance of the flowers. The young girl felt at peace and, soon, drowsiness overtook her. The steady sound of her breathing reached Ethan's ears.

He gave the sleeping girl beside him a sidelong glance. Kate looked peaceful in her sleep. Her lips were parted and a sliver of drool was coming out from the side of her lips.

The boy suppressed the laughter that was trying to escape his lips. He was afraid that it might wake her up so he held it in.

Ethan looked at Kate with tenderness. His hands brushed away the strands of hair that were covering her face. Looking at the oblivious girl that was sleeping beside him, Ethan recalled the time when he almost kissed her with the intention of giving her CPR.

Because of this thought, his eyes slowly made its way to the sleeping girl's lips. They looked so soft and had a pretty shade of pink. It was as if they were enticing him to press his lips over hers.

Ethan would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. However, Emily raised him to be a gentleman. Even back then when he almost kissed her, he only did it because he wanted to help her. He would never take advantage of a defenseless girl. Even if it was the girl he loved.

He reluctantly tore his gaze away and continued to work on the wreath of flowers in his hands. This would be his parting souvenir for her to help remind her of her stay. He prayed that the girl would come and visit him again soon.

An hour passed and Kate was still asleep, Stella knew that the others might get worried so she took control over their body. When she opened her eyes, she found Ethan gazing at her.

'Actually, this boy is not bad as well,' Stella had a very good impression of Ethan. She was paying close attention to his movements and was pleasantly surprised when he didn't take advantage of the sleeping girl beside him.

"Good afternoon," Ethan greeted her with a charming smile. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Mmm, I had a good sleep," Stella replied. "Thank you for watching over me."

"It was my pleasure. Your sleeping face was very cute."

'S-So cheesy!' Stella wiped the drool stain on the side of her lips with her handkerchief in an attempt to hide the twitching of her lips.

"I think it's time for us to go back," Stella said after making sure that there were no traces of drool on her face. "The others might get worried."

"Yes, it's about time for us to go," Ethan acknowledged. "But before that, please wear this on your head."

The boy gently put the wreath of flowers on Stella's head. It fit her perfectly and the boy sighed in relief as he backed away to look at her.

"How do I look?" Stella asked. One of her eyebrows were raised and a mischievous smile plastered on her face.

"Beautiful," Ethan said while gazing straight at her hazel eyes. "You're very beautiful, Kate."

'Sorry, Kate is sleeping, but I'll accept your compliment because we are one and the same!'

"Thank you," Stella replied. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Of course not."

"Mmm, I'll believe you for now."

Ethan smiled and took the initiative to hold her hand. How he wished that he could hold this hand forever. Stella sneaked glances at the boy next to her. The hand holding hers was slightly bigger. Although it wasn't as soft as Ciel's, she didn't feel any discomfort from being held by him.

The two rode on Casper's back in silence. Both of them were thinking of different things. Ethan was thinking whether Kate enjoyed her visit, while Stella was debating whether she would wake the sleeping Kate or not.

Their time together was nearing its end. No one knew what was waiting for them beyond the bend.