Chapter 21
Kit
After several deep breaths, my hands were still trembling.
Thoughts of Penny running into Vi on the road on his way home only fed my anxious anger, and I wanted nothing more than to quiet everything.
We still had half a bottle of whiskey in the cabinet in the kitchen, and I went to it, seeking the numbing peace that had gotten me through days like this before.
I pulled the bottle down from the top shelf, yanked out the cork, and took a swig.
I swished it around in my mouth to chase away the taste of Violette’s kiss, then spat it into the sink, pumping water in behind it to wash it down the drain for good measure.
I scrubbed my sleeve across my lips again to dry them.
As I turned to settle at the table, I kicked the fallen kettle, and it rolled against the lower cabinets.
That was enough to still my circling thoughts.
I looked from the bottle in my hand to the water and coffee grounds spilling across the floorboards and knew that whiskey wasn’t what I wanted.
It wasn’t what I needed. It wouldn’t help.
It was Penny that would help, and I didn’t want him to come home to me stinking of alcohol.
I’d told him I didn’t feel the need to rely on the whiskey anymore because I had him.
I didn’t want him to think I’d just been feeding him a line; I’d meant it then, and I knew now that it was the truth.
Because he was there for me, and he took care of me as much as I took care of him.
I re-corked the bottle and stowed it in the cabinet on my way to the bathroom for a towel.
Back in the kitchen, I mopped up the mess on the floor and refilled the now-dented kettle so there would be coffee ready by the time Penny got home.
A quick check of the soup assured me that would be ready soon, too, which left me to pack for our next journey out in the cold.
I laid the cloak, gloves, and socks across the bed, battling both kittens in my attempt to smooth the material with careful hands.
Penny hadn’t brought much when he came to Ashpoint, certainly not enough to sustain our months-long stay here.
I imagined it was nearly all he had. From what I’d seen and what he’d told me of farm life, he and his family lived simply.
He was awed by the food and goods to be found in less remote areas, and even modest bits of finery managed to impress him.
I lived for his wide smiles and the way his green eyes grew even brighter at the sight of something novel.
It was a joy to spoil him, far more rewarding than buying anything for myself.
After giving the cloak a final pat, I shouldered our bag and had to snag a kitten in each elbow to keep them from making a mess of the new clothes. I closed the door behind me, set the kittens loose, and returned to the kitchen to wait.
When Penny finally bustled in, our packed bag was leaned against the couch, and I was nursing a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.
“Kit?” he called as his boots thunked onto the mat by the door.
“In here.”
He came into view with a loaf of bread tucked under his arm. His cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, but he was beaming. His expression grew quizzical when I didn’t rise from where I was slumped over my mug. My smile must not have been as cheery as I intended.
He set the bread on the counter and lowered himself into the chair beside mine. “What’s happened?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
I’d been mulling over how to explain it since I finished packing. There was no nice way to tell him what had gone on while he was at Rosie’s, so I decided to keep it short.
“Violette came by claiming to be afraid of Merrick, saying that he hit her.”
Penny’s brows scrunched, fully prepared to accept the lie.
I knew the half-brothers had their share of altercations, even a few physical ones, but this was a different situation.
She didn’t deserve his concern. “I didn’t believe her,” I said, and his brows dipped a bit further.
“If you knew Vi like I do, you’d realize it’s a more likely story told the other way around. ”
Penny huffed an uneasy laugh, prompting a brief smile from me. I didn’t mind the thought of Violette putting her husband on his backside, but it logically led to the question Penny asked next.
“Why would she say it, then?”
I looked at the coffee gone lukewarm in my grasp.
“Now that I think about it, I wonder if he put her up to the whole thing. I had a feeling it was an act, but I walked into her trap.” I chuckled bitterly.
“I should have taken her to Levitt and let him handle it. He's the Right Hand. He’s her blood. These should be his problems, not mine.”
Penny covered my hands where they were gripping my mug tightly enough that my fingertips were tingling. His brows drew down again as he asked, “What happened?”
I let out a heavy breath. “I thought I could handle her; I used to be able to, but she cornered me and she kissed me and I threw her out.”
Penny straightened in his seat, going stiff-backed and rigid. The color on his face deepened with more than the flush of windburn. His eyes darted away, and I expected some kind of outburst to follow. Instead, he stayed eerily quiet until he pushed back his chair and made to stand.
“Think I’ll pay Merrick a visit,” he said, his voice like ice.
I caught his wrist and held him in place, fighting down the sudden fear that it was me he was angry at, not Vi. That maybe he just wanted to get away from me.
I knew better, but still the worry gnawed at my guts and made my words come out more desperate than I intended.
“Please don’t.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but I continued anyway.
“Pen, I don’t know what this is leading towards, but it can’t be good. I’ve made enemies of both Merrick and Vi. I don’t want you involved in it.”
He snorted and braced his free hand on the tabletop so he could lean in. “Isn’t this a conversation we’ve had before? I’m already involved in it because you’re my beau, and I’m not going to let my conniving half-brother get away with this.”
It was still jarring to see my tender-hearted paramour’s sharper edge.
It was a weapon he seemed to only wield for me, ready to fight first for my attention, and then for my honor.
It concerned me just as much as it always had, but I was starting to see it as a manifestation of love.
The protective shield I never had as a child remained unfamiliar as an adult and harder to accept because I still wasn’t sure I deserved it.
I scooted my chair back and tugged on his arm. “I appreciate that you want to defend me, but right now, you’re still in Vi’s good graces.”
His resolve cracked, and he let himself be pulled in to stand between my knees. I wound my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his chest. It was the contact I’d been craving since the moment everything went wrong, and I soaked it in.
“Kit…”
“I know it won’t last,” I mumbled against his shirt, “but we need to keep it that way for as long as possible. It might give us time to prepare for whatever she does next.”
I tipped my head to look up at him and remembered the rabbit fur cloak and how soft it would be tickling his bare neck.
A smile ghosted across my lips. We had better things to discuss than Violette’s impending retribution.
“Speaking of preparations,” I said, sliding my hands down to rest on his hips, “I’ve made a few.”
“Oh?” Penny stepped back to give me room to stand. He looked a bit skeptical at having his concerns dismissed but followed readily when I slipped my hand into his and led him toward the bedroom.
“I packed everything we’ll need for the trip, but you’ll want these on the way. It was a fight to keep the kittens from making it into a bed, so don’t let them follow us in here.”
He snickered as we dodged swatting paws to squeeze into our room through the smallest gap possible and close the door behind us. I kept hold of his hand and brought him to the edge of the mattress. Confusion crinkled his forehead until he realized what he was looking at.
“Where did you get these?” he asked as he ran his fingers over the furred collar.
“The tailor.”
His gaze cut over to me. “When?”
I retrieved one of the gloves and held it up in offering. Penny extended a hand, and I tugged it down over his fingers. A smile lit his face.
“I picked them up this afternoon on my way home,” I explained. “But I ordered them when we got back from Wendwood, the day I went out to the market.”
I set the wool stockings aside and picked up the cloak while Penny pulled on the other glove.
I swung the heavy garment around his shoulders and thumbed the buttons at the throat through their corresponding loops to secure it in place.
He was grinning, now, and suffered through me flipping up the collar and tugging the hood up so it hung low over his eyes.
“No more getting sick on the road,” I said, then stepped in so I could wind my arms around his waist inside the warmth of the cloak.
His smile softened, and he leaned his forehead against mine to whisper, “You’re my beau. I’m supposed to be the one doing the spoiling, not the other way around.”
“Too bad. You can’t stop me.”
“Well,” he said, pulling back, “I do actually have something for you, too. I was waiting for the right time to give it to you, and now seems good.”
He stepped away and crouched in front of the dresser. He dug into the back of the bottom drawer and pulled out a bundle of burlap tied with a length of twine. When he turned back to me, his smile was sheepish, and he held it out.
“It’s not much. Certainly nothing like all of this, but…”
I took the offered gift and tugged the twine loose.
Nestled inside the folds of fabric was a coil of dark oiled leather, the color of strong black coffee.
I ran my fingers over the neatly carved juniper branches heavy laden with berries that stretched the entire length of the belt.
It reminded me of home, of Forstford, and a pang of bittersweet longing for that peaceful place made my chest ache.
“Pen, this is beautiful.” I met his expectant eyes and closed the distance between us so I could lean our heads together again. “Thank you.”
His gloved hands crept up my back beneath my shirt, and I leaned in for a needy kiss, happy to put the events of the evening out of my mind.
“I think it’s my turn to spoil you now,” he murmured.
I grinned against his lips. “Dinner first. Then I’m all yours.”