The Warrior Elf (64 page)

“He needs to come home with us and live with his family,” Dougan said.

“Why?” Kevin asked.

“Because!”

Kevin shook his head. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want me to intervene. Convince me it’s better for him to go with you than to stay here.”

“We’re his family!”

“And you’re welcome to visit him anytime you wish, but young men seldom stay with their families. Did you stay with yours? Are your parents living in Farragon?”

Dougan’s mouth opened, closed, opened, and closed again

“You chose your path. He needs to have the chance to choose his.”

“Working in a stable? That’s no life for a soldier!”

“I’m not a soldier!” Marshall burst out. “And I don’t want to be one! I hate fighting!” Marshall took a deep breath. “I like animals, especially horses and dogs. I like working with them and taking care of them. I don’t want the life of a soldier. Why can’t you let me be who I am?”

Dougan shook his head. “I’m a soldier. Your father’s a soldier. Of course you’re going to be a soldier.”

Marshall shook his head. “No, I’m not. Not now. Not ever.”

Dougan continued glaring at Marshall. “Since you feel so strongly, we’ll leave it for now. But this discussion is not over.” Then he turned to Kevin. “Our bags are on the patio. We’re ready to go anytime you are.”

Rhianna nodded and headed out of the stable towards the patio with Dougan following close behind. Eryn and Murphy stayed back to speak to their son for a moment, so Kevin stepped out to give them a little privacy.

As soon as all three of them were ready to go, Kevin stepped in the middle, took out his key, and left for Farragon.

Rhianna collapsed in one of the chairs on the patio as soon as their guests were gone. She’d enjoyed most of the weekend, but the last few hours had been worse than tense. Until then, Dougan had been pleasant. He spoke fondly of Farragon and was proud of the work he was doing there. He was also proud of his daughter and how she’d handled being captured. But the man was not accustomed to being told no, and he didn’t take it well when someone did. No wonder Marshall hadn’t wanted to risk going home for a visit. If her father was anything like Dougan, she wouldn’t go home either.

Meanwhile, Marshall went into the smithy as soon as his parents left and fell into Neiven’s chair. He watched him work for a good five minutes without saying a word, and when he did speak, all he said was, “Thank goodness that’s over.”

Neiven laughed. “Why don’t you take Watson and Nikki out for a run? I imagine both of them are ready for a little fun, too.”

Marshall hoisted himself up out of the chair and nodded. “If anyone’s looking for us, we’ll be back later.”

~ ~ ~ ~

On his way back from Farragon, Kevin stopped by Marcie’s to pick up Hayley. No one was out front when he got there, so he knocked on the door. Caleb opened it, called out, “It’s Myron,” and held the door open for Kevin to come in.

Marcie stepped out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. “Hayley wasn’t expecting you until a little later. She’s next door checking on Evan, but she’ll be back in a bit. Why don’t you have a seat? You look like you could use a break.”

“Thank you.” Kevin sat down at the kitchen table. “I’ve been on the go all morning.”

Marcie picked up a mug and tilted her head towards the stove. “Coffee or tea? I have both.”

“Coffee, please.”

Caleb pulled out a chair and sat down beside him. “Why didn’t Uncle Marcus come with Hayley this weekend?”

Marcie shook her head as she handed Kevin his coffee. “Caleb! That’s none of your business.”

“No, it’s all right,” Kevin said. “We had company at the castle this weekend and your uncle thought we might need him, so he stayed home. But our company’s gone now. If it’s all right with your mother, you could come with me when I take Hayley back and you could visit with him for a little while this afternoon.”

Caleb looked at his mother and pleaded, “Can I? Please? Can I?”

Marcie looked at Kevin with raised eyebrows.

“It’s all right. Marcus is at the castle right now, and he’ll be there until after lunch. He doesn’t have anything planned for this afternoon, so it would be a good time. You can come too if you like.”

Marcie looked back and forth between Kevin and her son and finally nodded to Caleb. Then she looked at Kevin. “As much as I’d like to see where my brother lives, I can’t. Lance and Rayne are in Bridgeport and won’t be back for another hour. I need to be here when they get here. But I’d love to take you up on that offer some other time.”

“I’ll tell Marcus to figure out when he has a clear weekend and all of you can come for a visit.”

Marcie nodded. “That would be nice. I’ll hold you to that, Myron.”

Hayley walked through the back door in time to hear Marcie’s comment. “What are you going to hold him to?”

Marcie explained about Kevin’s invitation. “And this afternoon he’s invited Caleb to go back with you and spend the afternoon with Marcus.”

“I guess we need to get going then, don’t we?” Hayley asked Caleb. He nodded so hard his head seemed to bounce. Hayley laughed. “I’ll get my stuff.”

Kevin finished his coffee. “Do you need to take anything with you, Caleb?”

Caleb shook his head, but his mother handed him his jacket. When he started to argue, Marcie shook her head. “Do you want to go?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Caleb put the jacket on. “But you know I’ll probably forget to bring it back.”

“Not if you leave it on,” his mother quipped. “And you behave. You do whatever Myron tells you to do, or Sister Hayley, or your uncle. You better not let me hear you gave anyone any trouble. I mean that.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Caleb agreed.

Kevin put his hand on Caleb’s shoulder as Hayley walked back into the kitchen. She stepped beside Kevin and put a hand on his arm. Before he turned the key, Kevin said, “Caleb, when we get there, you’ll feel dizzy and sick on your stomach. That’s normal. Everyone does the first few times they do this, but if you’ll stand still for a minute, you’ll be fine.” He glanced at Marcie. “Around five all right?”

Marcie nodded and said, “Have fun,” as the air shimmered and they were gone.

~ ~ ~ ~

After Kevin left Caleb with his uncle, he went back to his office, plopped down in his chair, and rested his head on his arms. He felt like his day had already been a week long and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. At some point he needed to find Rhianna and thank her for taking Dougan off his hands, and it wouldn’t hurt to thank Neiven for putting up with them, too. Later, after dinner, he had to talk to Robyn, and then take Warren and Torrey back to Rainbow Valley.

The thought of Torrey brought up the image of two bundles wrapped in cheesecloth sitting on his dresser. He’d completely forgotten about them. With a heart-felt sigh, he slowly stood up and headed out of his office to go get them.

“Where are you off to this time?” Chris asked.

“Upstairs. Why?”

“Just trying to keep up with where you are today.”

“Yeah, it’s been one of those days.”

Five minutes later, he walked back into the main office with two bundles. When Chris looked up, Kevin tilted his head towards his office and walked on. Before Kevin made it around his desk Chris walked in and shut the door.

“What’s that?” Chris asked.

“Something from Torrey. I set them down in my room this morning and completely forgot about them until a minute ago.” Kevin picked up one of the two bundles. “This one’s yours, and she said to tell you to share it with Marcus, and since Caleb’s with him right now, this would be a good time.”

Chris gently unwrapped the pastries and grinned. “My favorite!”

“What?”

“Cinnamon buns!”

“I thought Miranda’s sweet buns were your favorite.”

“They are when I have them. But right now I have Torrey’s cinnamon buns so they’re my favorite.”

Kevin shook his head. “Go find Marcus and share them with him and Caleb.”

Chris stuck one of the buns in his mouth as he carefully wrapped the cheesecloth around the others. “Know where they are?”

“They were out back near the stable when I left them.”

After Chris left the office, Kevin picked up the other bundle and headed for Laryn’s house.

Laryn and Steve were sitting on their porch with sketchbooks in their hands. Kevin sat down beside them and handed the bundle to Laryn. “From Torrey.”

Laryn nodded as she unwrapped the buns and said, “Tell her we said thanks.” Then she wrapped them back up.

“Hey,” Steve said, “Wait a minute.”

Laryn shook her head. “It’s time for lunch. These will make a nice afternoon snack.”

Steve shook his head and looked at Kevin. “See what marriage does for you?”

Laryn laughed as she stood up to go put the buns away.

“Before you go,” Kevin said, “I’ve got a favor to ask.”

“What?”

“You know we had guests this weekend.”

Laryn nodded.

“Rhianna took care of them and kept them so busy I didn’t have to deal with them.”

Again Laryn nodded.

“I want to do something to say thank you, but I don’t know what. Do you know of anything she wants? Anything she’d like to have?”

Laryn paused. “Not at the moment, but I’ll see if I can come up with something. In the meantime, a simple thank you would be nice.”

“I’m going to see her this afternoon and tell her how much I appreciate it, but I want to do something more than that. I just don’t know what.”

Laryn nodded. “Let me think about it.”

~ ~ ~ ~

After lunch, Kevin went to Doreen’s house. When he knocked on the door, Shelley answered it.

“Hi, Shelley,” Kevin said, “I came to see Rhianna. Do you know where she is?”

The little girl nodded.

“Would you tell me?”

Shelley pointed towards one of the parlors.

“Is she in the parlor?”

Shelley shook her head and pointed towards the parlor again.

Kevin frowned. “But she’s not in the room?”

Shelley laughed and shook her head. Then she took his hand and led him back to the edge of the porch and pointed towards the yard. Rhianna was working on the garden.

“Thank you, Shelley.” Kevin walked the little girl back to the front door and held it open for her. “I’ll see you later.”

Rhianna had heard him talking to Shelley, so she’d already gotten up by the time he headed in her direction. She met him halfway. “Looking for me?”

“I thought you’d be taking it easy somewhere. You had quite a weekend.”

Rhianna laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“I’m sure I don’t, and for that I’m very grateful.” Kevin reached out and wiped a bit of dirt off her face. “You have no idea how much I appreciate what you did. I know you must be worn out after dealing with them all weekend.”

“It wasn’t that bad. Most of the time, it was fun. But I think Marshall’s right about not visiting Farragon anytime soon, like anytime in the next twenty or thirty years.”

Kevin laughed. “That bad, huh?”

“Only if he gets Marshall someplace where he can control the situation. He’s bound and determined to make a soldier out of him.”

“What about Murphy? He’s Marshall’s father. What does he say?”

“Not much of anything. He bows to Dougan in all matters. Whatever Dougan says, goes. Period. Personally, I don’t see how Eryn puts up with it. I wouldn’t.” Rhianna paused. “But there was one time, when Dougan and Darrell were talking about training and strategy, Murphy was a different man. We went to the pasture and he asked Marshall about the horses, their temperaments, their training, and he asked about Nikki. When Marshall talked about working with Kyle, Murphy seemed genuinely interested. They had a nice, comfortable conversation. Too bad Marshall’s parents can’t come for a visit without Dougan. I think they’d have a nice time if they did.”

“Maybe that can be arranged at a future date.” Then Kevin asked, “Have you eaten?”

Rhianna shook her head. “Not yet. I thought I’d heat up some of the stew Blair left for us.”

“Want to go to Fenway’s instead? I’ve already had lunch, but I wouldn’t mind some scog.”

Rhianna hesitated. “I think I’d rather have Blair’s stew and I can get you some scog. Doreen keeps some on hand.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I suggested Fenway’s so you wouldn’t have to do anything.”

Rhianna laughed. “That’s nice, but I’m not tired. Are you and Nikki coming by this evening?”

Kevin shook his head. “I’ve got a meeting at seven, and I have to be in Walnut Springs at nine. And I’ve got to take Caleb back home by five.”

“Caleb?”

“It’s a long story.” Kevin explained about Bridgeport, Hayley’s connection through Marcus, the raid, and Hayley’s sense of responsibility towards everyone up there. “When I picked her up on the way back from Farragon, I asked Caleb if he wanted to come visit his uncle for the afternoon. If I don’t have him back on time, Marcie will be mad at me, and if her temper’s anything like I’ve heard, I’d rather not experience it firsthand.”

Rhianna laughed. “Then you better get back up there and find him. See you tomorrow.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Kevin and Chris went to dinner as soon as Kevin got back from taking Caleb home. After they ate, they headed back to the office to shut it down for the night. Chris dismissed the pages and covered most of the glowstones. Then he joined Kevin in his office and shut the door. “Do we need to do anything before we go to Mapleton?”

Kevin shook his head.

“What did Marshall say when you asked if Nikki could stay with him tonight?” Chris asked.

“He said he didn’t have much time with her this weekend so he’d love to keep her tonight.”

“Why? Did he leave her somewhere?”

Kevin shook his head. “I think he meant he wasn’t able to give her the attention he usually does. I imagine he was distracted most of the time.”

Chris nodded.

“And if he’s anything like me, he’ll spend the evening telling Nikki all about his weekend, how he felt about seeing them and some of the things that were said. She’s a great listener.”

“I know. She and I have had a few conversations too, especially when you’ve gone off somewhere and are late getting back. She worries, you know.” Chris motioned towards some papers he’d left on his desk in Kevin’s office. “We’ve got almost an hour. Want to look through the district sorcerer files and see if we can find someone to switch with that guy up north?”