Chapter 6 #2
Muttering under her breath, Faye lowered herself into the chair with an appreciative sigh and stretched her legs out.
The fire had been banked low during the day, which was helpful because Elodie had no clue how to start one from scratch.
In her apartment she pressed a button and the flame-effect gas fire sprang to life, simple as you like.
But remembering what she’d seen Faye do, she laid a few bits of kindling over the coals then crouched beside the hearth and stirred the embers with the poker until flames began licking at the kindling.
Soon she had a cheerful fire crackling in the grate, chasing away the evening chill.
She found the kettle and filled it before hanging it from the metal tripod over the flames.
Faye watched all this with obvious amusement. “Looks like ye have done that before, lass. “
Elodie smiled. “My mother believed that any problem could be solved by a good chat over a cup of tea.”
“A wise woman, clearly.”
Elodie nodded, feeling a sudden, unexpected pang. “Yes, she was.”
The kettle began to steam. Elodie found dried mint hanging from a bundle near the hearth and dropped some into two pottery cups sitting on the wobbly table. She poured in the hot water, stirred the drink, and passed one to Faye.
Taking her own cup in both hands, she took a seat opposite the healer at the scrubbed wooden table. Steam curled from their mugs and from outside came the sound of children playing and dogs barking. After the chaos of the day, it felt surprisingly pleasant. Comfortable, even.
For a while neither of them spoke but the silence wasn’t awkward. Just... companionable. Elodie wondered about that. Why did she feel so comfortable with these people she’d only just met? She should be champing at the bit to leave. To get home. And yet...
Faye sipped her drink. “I needed that,” she said. “It’s been quite the day.”
Elodie nodded in agreement. She felt her own exhaustion beginning to creep up on her. Her limbs ached and the heat from the fire suddenly made her feel sleepy.
Faye, she noticed, said not one word about Elodie’s escapades last night. She didn’t ask why she’d left. She didn’t ask where she’d been going or why.
“Thank you, by the way,” Elodie said suddenly.
Faye blinked. “For what?”
“For taking such good care of me when I first arrived here.”
The healer waved a hand. “No need for thanks.”
“Still.”
“Aye, well.” Faye took another sip of tea. “Ye’re welcome.”
“Ronan told me a little about how he arrived here,” Elodie said.
Faye raised an eyebrow. “Oh, did he now? “I’d pay good money to hear his version.”
Elodie grinned. “I’d rather hear yours.”
Faye shrugged. “He appeared out of the mist one morning looking ready to drop. Of course, he insisted he was perfectly fine.”
“Was he?”
“Not even slightly.”
Elodie smiled. That sounded like what she’d learned of Ronan.
“He rode in atop that great beast of his, clinging onto the saddle barely conscious.” Faye shook her head at the memory. “Fine horse. Fine clothes. But not a scrap of coin or belongings with him other than his two pistols and a sword. I didnae know what to make of him. I really didnae.”
Elodie thought of Ronan. His strong arms swinging a hammer in his smithy. The swords hanging on the wall. The fine horse. The careful way he avoided certain questions.
“Who is he?” she asked quietly.
Faye’s smile softened. “A good man. We couldnae have survived this long without him. Any more than that, ye’ll have to ask him.”
Elodie should have known better than to ask. She stared into her mug of tea. A good man.
Faye yawned hugely, pressing the back of one hand against her mouth.
Elodie pointed to the bed. “You’re taking the bed tonight.”
The healer narrowed her eyes. “Ye still have a head wound, lass. Ye need rest more than I.”
“I don’t care. You spent the entire night last night sleeping on the floor because of me. So tonight you’re sleeping in your own bed. I’ll take the floor.”
Faye cocked her head. “Ye are a very bossy lass.”
“That’s not the first time I’ve been told that.”
“Really? Ye do surprise me.” Faye smiled to soften the words. “All right, lass. Ye win. For now.”
With a sigh, Faye heaved herself from her chair and climbed into bed. Elodie settled herself on the thin mattress on the floor and blew out the only candle, filling the cottage with darkness except for the glow of the dying embers.
Faye’s breathing soon deepened into sleep but Elodie lay staring up at the rafters. It had been a tiring, confusing two days. Last night had started by her trying to find a way home. It had ended with her choosing to return.
I have to go home, she told herself. What will Carla and the others do without me? They need me to help save the community center.
She snorted softly to herself. Who was she trying to kid?
They didn’t need her at all. They’d get on just fine whether she was there or not.
What was she other than an unemployed project manager who couldn’t even afford to pay her bills?
The bitter truth was that no matter how hard she tried, she was never quite able to make the difference she so desperately wanted to.
She’d grown up believing she could change the world. Life had taught her otherwise.
Ye are always fighting the good fight, Elodie MacNeil. Trouble is, have ye found yer true fight yet? The one that will lead ye to yer destiny and the person ye are meant to share it with?
Irene’s words rang in her head, despite her efforts to forget them.
Ronan had offered to take her back to where he’d found her. From there she was sure she could find the arch that had brought her here. Then all she had to do was step through it and...voila. She would be home.
Tomorrow, she told herself. Tomorrow I’ll go home.
But why did the thought of leaving send a little sting of disappointment through her?
As she drifted towards sleep, she found herself thinking not about her old life and how much she missed it, but about a hidden valley, a rough-tongued healer, a giant horse named Angus.
And a blacksmith with a wry smile and eyes she could drown in.