Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Nat
Nat sat on the side of the river, his feet in the cool water.
It had been a while since he’d been out here. It wasn’t pleasant in the winter, but whenever he needed to think, this was his favorite place to do so. It had always been his place, where he hid away when the world was too much—when he grew tired of pretending that everything was fine.
Things with Thea were changing so rapidly, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of them. And even stranger than that was the fact that Roan had apologized, when he’d never known Roan to apologize in his entire life.
He’d spent all his time with their father, who had never apologized, either—for anything.
Nathaniel watched the breeze blowing through the tall grass and took a deep breath of the scent of the water.
It smelled like his childhood.
Everything else might have changed, but the river was still the same, and that was peaceful in and of itself.
He was so engrossed in watching the running water that it surprised him when someone sat down beside him. He looked up to see Roan, and his heart sank. How had his brother found him? This had always been his sacred space. He didn’t want his brother to know where it was.
But then a voice whispered that if Roan had changed enough to apologize, perhaps it wasn’t the end of the world that he had found Nathaniel’s hiding spot.
The brothers sat in quiet for a few minutes before Roan cleared his throat.
“I’m sure you have questions,” he said, taking his boots off and putting his feet into the river.
“Only a few,” Nat said with a chuckle.
Roan waited.
The birds chirped and the water rushed by, and Nathaniel took a deep breath.
“Why did you hate me when we were growing up?” he asked, turning his full attention to his older brother.
Roan sighed and leaned back on his hands. He thought for a moment.
“I didn’t hate you,” he said quietly. “I was protecting you. And Mother.”
What did that mean?
“You know Father was not an easy man,” Roan said, the words seeming to stick in his throat. “He had little patience for anything, and that only grew worse the older he got. I kept him at the tavern as much as I could to keep him away from you and Mother when he was overly fond of his drink.”
His brother paused, moving his feet under the water for a moment before he continued.
“When you left, I was afraid that Mother wouldn’t have you as an excuse, and she would have to spend more time with him.
And then you came back, and all you could talk about was Thea, and I thought she was just another fling, like so many before, and I didn’t want you to leave Mother again.
I know I made a lot of mistakes, but I was trying to protect the two of you. ”
“And the café?” Nathaniel pressed.
His brother shrugged. “The tavern was losing money. I thought it would take away our only form of livelihood, and I didn’t know how I would be able to provide for us. I didn’t know what I would do if the tavern went under.”
“But not anymore?” Nathaniel asked.
Roan smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way Nathaniel couldn’t ever remember seeing before.
“Abigail is fixing it. She said it’s been better since the café,” he admitted ruefully, “and she’s helping me fix the rest of it.”
“So the café wasn’t the end of your world?” Nathaniel asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It was not,” Roan admitted. “I’m sorry for all the pain that I’ve caused you and Thea.
If I could go back and do it again, I would do things differently.
But I don’t regret keeping Father’s attention away from you.
I do regret all the years I spent being a beast to everyone—including you—and I wish that we could’ve found our way to being friends sooner.
I hope that you will be willing to work on it with me. ”
“Not just because Abigail told you to?” Nat asked.
Roan laughed. “Not just because Abigail told me to.”
“Though she does seem to be a good influence on you,” Nathaniel said.
“I believe so,” Roan said, a dreamy look in his eyes. “I will forever be grateful that I finally noticed her, even if it took a curse to make it happen.”
“A what?” Nathaniel asked, widening his eyes. “You were cursed too?”
Roan stared back at him. “You were cursed?”
“Mr. Nat!” a tiny voice shrieked, and Nathaniel turned to see Beth appear on the edge of the riverbank. “Mr. Nat, Miss Agnes said to tell you it’s dinnertime.”
Nathaniel waved his hand toward the child before turning back to his brother.
“We need to talk,” he said. If his brother had also been cursed…they needed to talk about it.
“I agree,” Roan said. “Perhaps you and Thea could meet us for dinner?”
“I would like that. At the tavern?” Nathaniel said with a smile, reaching out to shake his brother’s hand.
“At the tavern,” Roan responded with a smile, clasping his hand and pulling him into a hug.
Nathaniel returned the hug, holding on for a moment longer than felt normal for someone to hug another man—but this was his brother, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had given him a hug. It felt right.
“Mr. Nat, are you coming?” Beth yelled again.
Nathaniel sighed and got to his feet, offering a hand to pull Roan up.
Roan grunted as he took Nat’s hand and pulled himself to his feet.
“You know, I think you’re getting old,” Nathaniel said with a smile that came so easily—though it hadn’t been easy around Roan for a very long time.
“Don’t remind me, pipsqueak.”
Nathaniel grinned at the old nickname. “I will remind you all I want to,” he said. “It’s my job.”
The brothers smiled at each other, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, Nathaniel felt hope that he could restore his relationship with his last remaining family member.
“Roan... I missed you,” he said as they stood and looked at each other.
“I missed you, too,” Roan admitted. “I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow.”
“Dinner tomorrow,” Nathaniel agreed.
Nathaniel walked away to join Beth and take her back home. As she slipped her hand into his, he turned back, looking over his shoulder to see his brother also heading back toward town, taking a slightly different route.
He nodded in farewell before following Beth back to the orphanage.
This reconciliation had been a long time coming.
And for the first time, he was excited to have dinner with his brother.
Nathaniel watched as Beth began to shape the dough into a rough square. With dinner finished, they were helping Agnes prep the bagels for tomorrow.
“Now, what do we need?” he asked.
“The wingleplucker!” she shouted joyfully.
“I don’t know where you get your nonsense from,” Agnes said, clicking her tongue as she handed the dough scraper to Nathaniel, who handed it to the girl.
“Oh, it’s an inside joke,” he said. “I don’t know where I got it, either.”
He knew exactly where he’d gotten it…but Agnes and Beth didn’t need to know it.
The kitchen door opened, and Eugenia stepped through.
“Miss Genie!” the girl shrieked joyfully, hurrying over to give her a hug.
“I don’t suppose you are baking that for me?” Eugenia asked playfully.
“Do you want some?” the girl asked. “Mr. Nat said we had to share. I can share with you.”
“I would love some when it’s ready,” Eugenia said with a smile. “Now I need you to skedaddle so I can talk to Mr. Nat.”
“This is ready for the oven, Agnes,” Nathaniel called over his shoulder as Eugenia grabbed his arm and towed him out of the kitchen.
“Ow!” he complained, even though it didn’t really hurt.
“Oh, stop your foolishness,” Eugenia admonished.
“You’re the one who pulled me out of there, Aunt Genie.”
Eugenia smiled at the memory of what he had called her as a child. “I miss your mother,” she said softly.
“I do, too,” Nathaniel said, his throat tight.
“But she’s the reason I’m here,” Eugenia said firmly. “So you have to listen to me.”
“Have I ever not listened to you?” Nathaniel asked.
“That’s a good point,” she said, her tone as sprightly as her steps as she led him to his office. “Unlike your brother. You always did listen better than he did.
“I do a lot of things better than Roan,” Nathaniel muttered, but Eugenia shook her head at him.
“None of that,” she said. “You and your brother will have to learn to get along at some point, you know. It’s what your mother would want.”
They were already starting to mend that bridge, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Even if she liked me better,” he said. It was what Aunt Genie would expect of him.
“Nathaniel Alder, I don’t want to hear another word,” Eugenia said. “You and your brother will figure it out. I know you will—even if I have to sit down and make the two of you talk one of these days.”
“That’s not necessary, Aunt Genie,” he said as he led her into his office and closed the door behind him. “Now, what can I help you with? I’m assuming you need something, since you closed the library to show up here.”
“I have a problem,” Eugenia said, “and I need you to help me solve it.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked. It didn’t matter what it was—of course he would help her.
“I need you to stop faffing around and show Thea how much you care for her.”
Nathaniel’s eyes widened, and he stared at Eugenia.
“I know you care for her,” she said. “Because I know you wouldn’t be offering your arm to walk her through town if you didn’t.”
Nathaniel colored. “How’d you hear about that already?”
“I have my ways,” Eugenia said in an airy tone.
“And how do you know I’m not just flirting?” he pointed out.
“You haven’t flirted with anyone since you came back from Riyel, and I’m offended that you think I haven’t noticed that. You know I’m right. You care for Thea.”
“You might be right,” he said, “but it doesn’t mean she’s ready for me to tell her how I feel.”
Technically, he already had. And technically, he’d been about to kiss her.
But Eugenia didn’t need to know that.
“You should know better than anyone that there is no guarantee of how much time we have left with someone,” she said. “And you should know what it’s like to lose someone you love without having said the things you wanted to say.”
Nathaniel swallowed hard. He did know what that felt like. And he never wanted to experience it again.
“I’m assuming Thea knows the same thing, since she’s here on her own,” Eugenia said. “But I want the two of you to figure it out, because I’m tired of watching you pine for each other.”
“You think she’s pining for me?” Nathaniel asked.
He knew that she loved him…but it didn’t mean he didn’t want to hear that she’d missed him as much as he’d missed her.
“I don’t know,” Eugenia said airily. “So I suppose you had better figure it out. All I know is the two of you belong together, and I’d actually like to see it happen before my time on this earth is through.”
“You have plenty of time left,” Nathaniel said, shaking his head at her.
“That’s what we thought about our loved ones, isn’t it?” she asked quietly. “You should know better than to assume. But the good Lord willin’, I will have plenty of time left, and I will get to see you have babies of your own. They’ll look adorable,” she mused.
“Aunt Genie!” Nat protested, his ears turning red.
The problem with being a redhead was that he blushed far too easily.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” she said, waving her hands in the air. “You know I’m just a foolish old woman.”
“You are anything but that,” Nathaniel said, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “You just like to pretend you are so people will give you all the best gossip.”
Eugenia grinned. “Is that a crime?”
“Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. “It does make you a bit of an evil mastermind, however.”
Eugenia chuckled. “Forgive me for wanting to meddle in the lives of the people I care about,” she said. “You know I mean well.”
“Unfortunately,” Nathaniel teased, “but I love you for it.”
“As you say,” she said, pointing to her other cheek.
Nathaniel grinned and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek again.
“Now that I’ve said my piece, I have some errands to run,” Eugenia said. “I already stopped at the café for a moment.”
Nathaniel gave her a sideways glance.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything to harm your chances,” she told him.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he grumbled. “You and your meddling.”
“You love me for it,” she said. “Now be a dear and open the door for me.”
Nathaniel opened his office door, and she smiled brightly.
“Such a gentleman. I knew your mother raised you well.”
Nathaniel laughed and said, “Goodbye, Aunt Genie,” as he watched Eugenia leave.
How had she heard about him walking Thea home already? And more importantly, what had she said to Thea? Although perhaps the more important question was if Thea had listened to her…and how long should he wait before he went to see her.
He didn’t want to wait any longer, though.
And perhaps he should bring her flowers.
He’d been bringing flowers for the café for so long…but maybe he could bring flowers for her this time.