The Gatekeeper's House (32 page)

BOOK: The Gatekeeper's House

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As she swung the door open she felt the
need to duck, even though the ceiling was at least a foot taller
than she was. She looked around the cozy living room. There was a
fireplace in here also; actually there was a fireplace in all the
original rooms of the cottage as back in the day that was the only
way to heat the house. She listened for signs of life and could
hear voices coming from the kitchen.

“
Come on, boy. They’re in
the kitchen.”

She closed the living room door and
wandered through another door to the contrastingly spacious dining
room. The kitchen was located on the other side. Faen followed at
her heels. He very rarely let her out of his sight when she was
home.

“
Hi, guys,” she called as
she reached the kitchen.

Her dad, uncle and her uncle’s wife,
Nicki, were all seated around the kitchen table, situated in the
center of the room. They had their hands wrapped around cups of
tea, and a plate of cookies sat in the center of the table. Faedra
strode over to where her dad was sitting, and planted a kiss on his
forehead then leaned past him to grab a cookie.

“
Hey, Dad.”

“
Hello, darling how was your
day?”

“
Oh you know, the
usual.”

“
Mr. Thompson still treating
you badly?”

“
I don’t know why you put up
with his crap, Faedra,” Uncle Leo chimed in, “I would have told him
where to stick his job a long time ago.”

“
Thanks, Uncle Leo, but I
need the money and it’s not for much longer, I’ll be starting
college soon.” Faedra made her way around the table to where her
uncle sat, and leaned over to wrap her arms around his neck. “I’ll
survive, I promise,” she smiled her cheeky grin at him and planted
a kiss on his cheek.

“
Well, you have the patience
of a saint, that’s all I can say,” Leo continued.

“
Hey, Nicki, what are you
doing this weekend?” Faedra asked, quickly changing the subject of
her dire working arrangements.

Her uncle had met Nicki not long after
her mother had died, and Faedra had taken to her straight away.
Although Nicki was a good ten years older than herself she had
treated Faedra like a sister, and taken her under her wing. She was
happy that her uncle had found such a wonderful person, and wished
that her Dad would do the same. It had been nearly twelve years
since that fateful day, and her Dad had never been interested in
meeting anyone else even after all these years. She worried all the
time that he would be so alone when eventually the inevitable
happened, and she moved out.

“
We are attempting to take
your Dad out on the boat tomorrow, get him out of this house for a
change,” Nicki replied.

Faedra watched as her father raised his
eyes heavenward. She knew her uncle had been trying to get him out
to meet new people, mainly of the female variety, for a while now
and sympathized with her dad after he had confided in her that he
felt like a prize bull being paraded around a judging
ring.

“
That sounds like fun, Dad.
I’d go with you if I didn’t already have plans. I was going to
invite Nicki to come with us to Strawberry Fair
tomorrow.”

“
Thanks, Fae, but you’re
already taking Amy and Zoë, and Faen no doubt. It would have been
just a little squashed in the back of your car.”

She had a point, Faen let out a little
whine.

“
Don’t worry, you’re still
coming,” Faedra told him, and he wagged his tail.

Since he had turned up that day of the
funeral they were virtually inseparable apart from when social
decorum dictated. He could not go with her to school or to work,
but waited patiently each day until she came home, and then didn’t
leave her side until the next morning.

“
It’s a good job Zoë loves
you almost as much as I do,” she told him kneeling down to rub his
velvety soft ears. “You can ride in the back with her, she’ll love
that.” she turned to her family. “Well, excuse me everyone, I’m
going to get changed and run out to the barn. It’s a beautiful
evening for a ride.”

“
Hey, young lady,” her dad
called as she was headed in the direction of her bedroom. “You
still haven’t told me what you want to do for your eighteenth
birthday it’s just around the corner, or have you forgotten?” There
was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Faedra raised her eyes at Faen, who was
looking at her excitedly.

“
Dad, I’ve already told you,
I would like a small dinner here with you guys, Amy and Zoë, and I
will be in seventh heaven. So don’t go planning anything big for me
will you, I don’t want any fuss, promise?”

Her father let out a sigh, he would
love to give his little girl a big birthday bash, but knew she
wouldn’t enjoy it, and had to be satisfied with a small, family and
friends get together instead.

“
Okay, darling, I promise.”
his voice was laced with disappointment.

For more information and
links to The Custodian Novels, please visit
www.alisonpensy.com
.

For more information about
Eva Pohler’s Gatekeeper’s Saga, visit
http://www.evapohler.com
.

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