Cloud Riders(121)

United Amusement—Day Three


Kayden had gone to see the boys while Cassie got ready for the day. She stood out on the balcony, viewing the city and getting it all straight in her head. She was still a little surprised at Kayden’s reaction last night. It didn’t matter to him that she was a sook and that she wasn’t strong and tough like the other team members. To him she was just Cassie, his mate, his woman, his wife!

She felt on a bit of a high because she didn’t have to put on an act anymore. She could just be herself now. No more pretending to be who she was not.

Kayden came up behind her. ‘The car’s are out front but Conor and Ethan didn’t come home last night until a little while ago so the girls aren’t happy. They need a minute.’

She smiled when she saw Kayden standing there, holding a wrapped box. ‘I went down this morning and brought you a little gift to make you feel better. I was pretty hard on you last night and I hope you’ll forgive me.’ He looked down at the box. ‘I hope you’ll like it,’ he grinned, pulling the lid off. ‘Okay, you have to hold out your arm and close your eyes.’

He clasped a bracelet around her wrist. When she opened her eyes it was an exquisite bracelet with charms of stars, the moon, horses and a heart, each trinket having diamonds, rubies, amethysts or emeralds set into them. They hung delicately off a white gold chain and as she moved her arm, she swore they reminded her exactly of the beauty and array of colours from the sky above. ‘It’s just perfect. I love it.’ She jumped into his arms, hugging him for his thoughtfulness. ‘You’re so going to have a monster on your hands if you don’t stop being this good to me,’ she kept grinning, blown away by his sweetness.

‘My monster, though.’ Cuddling her, he knew he was going to absolutely ruin her from now on and he didn’t care if she turned into the most spoilt bitch he’d ever met. He’d love it.

Later, as they waited in the foyer, Conor and Ethan came in looking very submissive as the girls were still giving them a bit of a hard time. The trip into the city was relatively quiet but the mood improved as they all took in the sights along the way. They drove across the famous Sydney harbour bridge getting a good view of the Opera House before fighting their way through the massive twists of the freeways. Cars, buses and trucks muscled their way through the busy streets and on the sidewalk, shops of every kind spilled out. Colourful, fashion-conscious women and men filled the streets. Some gathered at the lights and when they turned green, rushed across, barely looking where they were going as they wrote messages on cell phones or listened to their favourite tunes.

The parks were flourishing and a floral array of blooms gave off fragrances that wafted into the car as they passed them. Cassie even got to see what they meant by road rage which was running rampant the further into the city streets they went. There was honking of horns, frustrated yelling out of car windows, even a fight over a car park. She was entertained both in the car and out on the streets. Once they hit the city she was amazed even more by the compacted beauty of its massively high buildings and their history within. The limo pulled up at the Pavilion where they had lunch. The restaurant, positioned on the edge of the Royal Botanic and DomainGardens, was picturesque. Later enjoying a stroll in the luxuriant parklands where soft blooms highlighted the walkways and neatly carved bushes made the walk very pleasurable.

The next stop was the ArtGallery, just across the road from the restaurant. Cassie noticed that it featured many Australian, European and Asian artists. There were many she just didn’t get.

The guide ignored her with an almost impatient huff as he continued the tour. ‘Over this side we have the Australian landscape by John Glover who painted it on his property at Patterdale in 1835.’

Further on she tuned in again, becoming a little more interested.

‘Here we have The Arbour by Emanuel Phillip Fox which was a lovely garden setting of a family enjoying the outdoors, set in the early Victorian era.’ The guide moved them on. ‘Last but not least is the Ned Kelly series by Sidney Robert Nolan who found painting the legendary character was a way of painting the Australian landscape in a completely new way.’

Cassie knew art would never be her thing; however, she left with an appreciation for the artists who had worked hard to create masterpieces that would last for many generations to come.

Leaving the gallery, they walked the couple of blocks to get to the Mint. It was located in the historic precinct of

Macquarie Street

and when they arrived the tour guide told them it was the oldest classically detailed building in Australia.