by Rin Grey
Digger tried to ignore the sudden twist in his heart at her reaction. He shouldn’t have come, should have just sent her things as she’d asked him to. Whatever made him think there was any chance she’d be happy to see him? She’d made it quite clear in her letter that she was ending things.
Before he could withdraw and try to salvage any pride he had left, she glanced at the woman, who watched them with a knowing expression on her face. “Can you give us a minute, Gemma?”
The woman nodded and disappeared back inside the house.
Digger watched her go, trying to make sense of it. Who was the woman and had she called Elizabeth “Mamma,” or was she talking to someone else?
She had to be talking to someone else, right?
Curiosity overwhelmed him, and he didn’t even know where to start asking questions. Not that it mattered, it was none of his business. He spoke before Elizabeth could say anything. “I know, I shouldn’t have come. Your stuff is on Rianna. I’ll go, and you can get back to… to... the… wedding?”
That was what the woman who’d answered the door had said, but it only raised more questions.
“It’s all right, they’ll live without me for a while.” Elizabeth stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
Digger felt a flicker of hope. Was her openness an invitation to ask more questions? An indication she might just answer some of them?
“Who’s wedding is it?”
It wasn’t the question he wanted to ask. What he really wanted to know was whether she’d assumed things were over between them just because she’d left Niacin, or whether something else was wrong, but he figured he’d work up to that.
She was silent for a long moment, then said quietly, “My ex-husband’s.”
“Your ex-husband?” Digger repeated stupidly, forgetting all about his other problems. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected to hear, but that wasn’t even close.
Whether it was better or worse than what he had expected, he wasn’t too sure either.
“Yes,” was all Elizabeth replied, staring off towards the horses, although Digger suspected she wasn’t really seeing them.
“I had no idea you’d ever been married?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Digger realised how redundant they were.
Elizabeth gave a short laugh. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
He’d always been aware of that, but never had it seemed more true than right now. Up until now, he’d thought that he knew her, even if he might not know all her secrets, but now he was beginning to wonder.
How did someone hide the fact that they’d been married, and…
“The woman who answered the door before, who was she talking to, when she said ‘Mamma’?” Digger asked.
It couldn’t be… could it?
Elizabeth’s answer dispelled any doubts.
“Me.”
In all their years together, Digger had never had any reason to doubt her. But this… This seemed impossible. Fantastical even.
“How?” he asked, struggling to believe her calm statement.
He’d always pegged Elizabeth for round about his own age, somewhere in her mid to late twenties. But the woman who had answered the door had wrinkles and greying hair. He could more readily believe that she was Elizabeth’s mother than the other way around.
Elizabeth tilted her head to one side, considering him. A slight smile played over her lips, as though challenging him. “Come on, Digger. You know me, you’ve see the things I can do with my magic. Why is this so unbelievable?”
She had a point. She’d pulled him back from death when he thought he was a goner, and then there was that disappearing act she pulled back in Niacin. Why was it so much harder to believe she was far older than she looked?
“So, you mean, you’re really, what, sixty, seventy?”
“Seventy-three,” she said quietly. “Last count.”
“Seventy-three?”
He’d spent the last five years fighting alongside and sleeping with a seventy-three year old and he’d never realised it? No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t take it in. Oh, it wasn’t that he didn’t believe Elizabeth. He had no reason not to
It just didn’t fit with anything he knew of the world up until now.
“So is this look an illusion, or what?” he asked.
Even as he asked the question, he knew that couldn’t be it. No woman in their seventies could fight or run or make love the way she did.
“No, it’s not an illusion. Every year I perform a ritual to rejuvenate my body and to keep it young. What you see is the real me. However, if I missed a few years, I’d begin to age just like anyone else.”
So many pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. Her lack of scarring, her apparent unchanging body, the tattoo with the date from two decades ago, even her mysterious absences. He’d noticed that she went off for a few days each year, nearly always at the exact same time, the first few days of spring, and came back seeming even more full of energy and zest than she usually was.
Yet it still seemed so unbelievable. The thought that she was… had been, he corrected himself, married, that she had a child, and was practically old enough to be his grandmother, left him reeling.
“I don’t know what to say, Liz. Why have you never mentioned any of this before?” Digger wasn’t sure why he was asking, he didn’t really think she’d answer. Not honestly anyway.
Elizabeth shrugged uncomfortably. “Because I don’t want to talk about it? Because it was part of my life I wanted to forget?”
More honest than he’d expected.
Digger sensed a rare moment of vulnerability from her and was surprisingly touched. “So what changed? Why did you come back now?” he asked quietly.
He wasn’t surprised when she didn’t answer his question. Instead, she turned and looked at him searchingly for a few moments, before asking instead, “Why did you come?”
Digger shrugged. The truth was, he wasn’t quite sure himself anymore, other than a wish to be with her. And it seemed sheer stupidity to admit that right now.
She looked at him and gave a wry smile. “I haven’t exactly made it easy for you to answer that, have I? And I guess in part that the answer is obvious, but before this conversation goes any further, I need to know what you really want from me, Digger.”
The rare moment of Elizabeth leaving an opening for him to say he cared about her, even asking him to say it, surprised him more than anything she had said so far, even the ex-husband comment.
It was unusual enough for him to take the risk.
“I don’t know what I want, I just missed you. Seemed pretty pointless staying in Niacin without you, there was nothing else holding me there. I figured why not come?”
“And now?”
“Now it’s up to you,” Digger said softly. “I’m not so sure of anything anymore. Actually, I’m not sure that I was in the first place.”
Elizabeth stared at him for a few moments, then heaved a sigh. “I came back because Mitch got himself carted off to the Dome and I had to face all this to rescue him,” she said, as though that explained everything.
There was just one detail she’d left out.
“Who’s Mitch?”
“Gemma’s son, my grandson.”
“Oh.” Not just a husband and a daughter, but a grandson. Digger shifted his ideas yet again. This time it was just a little easier. He was a little concerned that he was getting used to the idea. “I take it he’s a mage?”
“Yes, quite a powerful one,” Elizabeth said, a trace of pride colouring her words.
“So, what happened?” Digger’s experiences with the Dome weren’t good ones, so he had little hope for a favourable outcome to this story.
“I brought him back,” she said, as if it were as simple as bringing home a child who had stayed out past curfew.
“You what?” Digger asked in astonishment. Somehow, this was almost more unbelievable than everything el
se she’d told him today.
“I brought him back,” Elizabeth repeated.
“From the Dome?”
Things like that just didn’t happen. It was one of those known facts that no one, not even the greatest of mercenaries tried to get in or out of the Dome and lived to tell the tale. Few even tried these days.
Who in their right mind really would try to take on a country full of mages anyway?
Elizabeth, apparently.
No surprise there.
“Yes, I brought him back.” There was a trace of amusement to her words now.
“How?” was all Digger could think to say.
“Well, I teleported into the Dome, then I went to see the king, and we made a deal. He wants something my family has, and in return, he agreed to let Mitch come home.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Digger shook his head in disbelief. He wouldn’t put anything past Elizabeth, but all she had come out with today was… well, the stuff of stories and legends. Not reality.
The silence stretched out between them until Elizabeth said, “Well, do you want to come in?”
“I don’t know anymore,” Digger said tiredly. And it was the truth. His head was reeling from everything she’d said, overwhelming all his own feelings.
Except for one.
None of it made him want to walk away from her.
The only thing that would make him do that was if she said she wanted nothing to do with him.
Digger took a deep breath. “Do you want me to stay, or should I go?”
Elizabeth glanced over at him, and to his relief he saw the first real smile she’d given since he arrived. “You have to ask? Of course I want you to stay. It’s just damned awkward is all.”
“You mean with your ex-husband?”
Yeah, that probably would be awkward. But at least it was an ex.
“No, it’s not that.” She waved a hand dismissively, then sighed. “It’s Gemma. I promised I’d stay until I was sure Mitch had full control of his magical abilities. She’s… a little afraid he might lose control, so I’m staying at her house.”
Digger could see the awkwardness of the situation. “I don’t have to stay here,” he offered. “It’s easy enough to put up at an inn for a while.”
Elizabeth stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “I’ll talk to Gemma. But you might as well come in for now. In fact, if you want, we can outrage some of my more staid relatives.”
Her teasing threw Digger for a minute. He was just managing to reconcile his thoughts with her age, then she went and threw them on their head again. That sentence certainly wasn’t what he’d expect from a seventy-three year old.
But it was what he’d expect from Elizabeth.
Digger couldn’t help an involuntary laugh.
But as another raucous cheer went up, he hesitated. A house full of her relatives, people who probably knew more about her than he did. He wasn’t so convinced.
“I’m not really dressed for the occasion, maybe we can meet up later.” If he didn’t just go back to Niacin instead.
No, he knew he wouldn’t, even though he probably should. He couldn’t convince himself to leave while there was any hope he could find a way to make this work.
Elizabeth shrugged. “You’ve come a long way, I think travel clothes will be accepted. The ceremony is over anyway, it’s just the celebration now.”
Digger was about to protest again, when something in Elizabeth’s demeanour made him stop. “You don’t want to be there by yourself, do you?”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened just a fraction, and he could almost see her shrink away from his words, as though not wanting to admit their truth.
He was right. Elizabeth, who was usually so independent, wanted someone beside her.
Then she forced a grin. “Well you see, I’m sure all my relatives are just dying to pester me with hundreds of questions that I really don’t want to answer, so I figure your presence might save me from that,” she quipped.
He let the attempt to save face stand, not bothered that she didn't admit the truth. He was too elated to care.
He laughed, perhaps a little louder than necessary. “Well, if I can be useful, then who am I to argue?”
She’d joked about it, but he had seen a moment of vulnerability from her, a moment where she needed him.
For that, he was prepared to walk through fire.
Or face a house full of her relatives.
Somehow, he wasn’t quite sure which was more intimidating.
Chapter 10 - Introductions
Elizabeth tried not to wince when everyone stared at her when she walked back in holding Digger’s hand. Even George looked over from where he was dancing with Sara, and almost tripped over.
This was just what she’d been afraid of when he’d shown up at the door. Now of all times.
To her surprise though, that had been her only reason for not being glad to see him.
Well, that and the fact that it necessitated more explanations.
Somehow, explaining everything to Digger hadn’t been nearly as bad as explaining to the rest of her family had.
She resisted the urge to tighten her hold on Digger’s hand. She didn’t care what anyone else thought. She wasn’t going to send Digger away when he’d come all this way.
Especially not when it felt really good to have someone she knew she could count on to be on her side. He might not make her whole body sing in anticipation the way Sean did, but he was a true partner, a friend, who never seemed to doubt or question her.
Right now, she was very glad to have that.
When George had invited her to his wedding, she’d been surprised and shocked, and a little backed into a corner when Gemma had offered to hold it at her place.
She didn’t want to seem like she was avoiding it, but in reality, she didn’t belong here. She was glad George was moving on, but why did she have to be part of it?
Digger’s presence distracted her a little, and made her feel not quite so alone. Even if everyone was staring at them.
Gemma was the first to approach them, a smile on her face. “Mamma, are you going to introduce me?”
It felt a little awkward, introducing Digger to her daughter. Elizabeth wasn’t even quite sure what to say. In the end she settled for, “This is Digger, we worked together in Niacin. Digger, this is my daughter, Gemma.”
She could see from the sharp look Gemma shot her that she wasn’t impressed at the introduction. Well, what did Gemma expect her to say?
That she was glad Digger had uprooted himself and followed her here, even though she wasn’t sure she cared about him in quite the same way she was beginning to suspect he cared about her. That she wasn’t going to tell him to go home, even so, because she was too glad to see him?
That one day, she was probably going to hurt him, just as she’d hurt George?
Gemma didn’t demand any of those things. She just held out her hand to Digger, and said with a smile, “I’m pleased to meet you.”
“I’m pleased to meet you too,” Digger replied automatically.
Gemma raised an enquiring eyebrow. “Really?”
Elizabeth bit back an involuntary laugh. She hadn’t expected Gemma to express her opinion quite so frankly. Perhaps Gemma would understand more than she expected.
Her honesty seemed to set Digger at ease though. He grinned ruefully and shook his head. “Well, if I’m being truthful, I’d have to say it’s quite a shock to find out Liz has a daughter at all.”
Gemma nodded. “I imagine it would be. Especially one my age?”
Digger hesitated, then nodded. “That’s true. But I expect I shall get used to the idea.”
Elizabeth hid a wince. It had to be hard to take in, that the woman you’d been living with was that much older than you, and had a family. She’d never really thought of it that way herself, then again, she really didn’t feel seventy-three.
At least, not the w
ay she thought a seventy-three year old should feel.
It said a lot that Digger was prepared to try to get used to it.
And indicated he was thinking about more than just a quick visit. That he cared about her far too much.
That she probably shouldn’t let this continue.
But she wanted it too. Having Digger here seemed to restore some of the balance and normality to her life that had been missing, and she didn’t want to let that go.
She hesitated, but there wasn’t really going to be a better time. “Gemma, I wouldn’t normally ask, but given the stage of Mitch’s training, and the… other threats, I know you won’t want me to leave. Do you mind if Digger stays here with me for a while?”
Gemma didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow. “Of course, Mamma, that goes without say. You’re more than welcome to stay.” She even smiled at Digger, who returned the smile with a hint of embarrassment.
Any further discussion was halted by the arrival of Mitch.
Elizabeth had a moment’s concern about how she was going to explain this relationship to her grandson, but he, of course, didn’t care about relationships. “Is that a real sword?” he asked, his eyes shining, staring at the sword at Digger’s waist.
Digger raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth.
“My grandson,” Elizabeth explained with a grin. “Mitch.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mitch.” Digger offered his hand, his expression solemn. “And yes, it is a sword, but I’m surprised you’re interested in it if you’ve seen Eli… you grandmother’s.”
Mitch made a face. “She won’t let me touch it.”
“Liz is pretty protective of her sword,” Digger agreed, giving her a wink.
“And you’re not touching that one either,” Gemma said sternly. “You have more than enough to worry about with learning magic, you don’t need to mess with swords as well.”
Her voice was taut, just a shade off angry. Elizabeth shot her a look. Did she have an issue with swords too? Hopefully not, because Elizabeth couldn’t see how she could avoid it. She’d deal with that later though.
The song had finished, George was heading straight for them, and Elizabeth was wondering how she was going to handle that awkward introduction.
