by Andrea Boyd
“No. It was your mother. I think she finally admitted to herself that he was responsible for the death of three of her sons. I did not have the heart to tell her that Reagan is alive, and of course we did not know about you.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but he made no comment concerning his mother’s desperate act. I would have thought his questions would be never ending. “How did you find out where I was?”
“Rian told me. He was there when it happened.” Poor Rian would probably never be the same again.
“Where are my clothes?” That was it? That was all the questions he had? Well, I guess it was a lot to absorb. No doubt he would want more details later.
I went to the river to get his clothes and brought back the remaining stale bread and dried meat from my saddle bag. I had meant to restock my supplies at Gilvary. I could go hunting or maybe catch some fish later. I gave most of the food to Garrett, and he tore into it like it was a feast. When he was done, I checked his wounds and helped him to dress.
He pulled the front of the shirt up to his nose, inhaled deeply, and then grinned. It was good to see his smile again. I had missed it. “I smell like you. What scent is that?”
“Sorry about that. It is gardenia. All I had was the body soap I brought with me. That is what I used to wash your clothes yesterday.”
He closed his eyes and took another sniff of his shirt. “I am not sorry. I have missed that smell. It is rather comforting to me.”
His eyes flew wide open and so did mine at the alarming sound of men’s voices coming from the tunnel leading outside. I grabbed my bow and quiver and headed toward the opening. Garrett had tried to grab me as I went by, but I easily escaped his grip. I would not wait for someone to find us here almost defenseless. If there was trouble coming, I wanted to meet it head on.
As I inched my way closer to the entrance, I could see men as well as horses milling about. I was not close enough to recognize their features, but I knew they were my own warriors by the dragon embellished armor they were wearing. This knowledge did not bring me immediate relief. I strained to hear what they were saying.
“I am sure this is the ruins the boy spoke of. Hopefully we will find the queen soon and the king as well. Let us spread out and see if we find anything.”
“So, you think he is still alive?”
“God willing, I hope so. Our queen has seen too much loss. She deserves good news for a change. Do you not think so?”
I let go of the breath I had been holding. His words must be true since he had not known I was listening. I would count him as my ally unless he showed me otherwise. “Hello there.” I called out in a loud voice before showing myself. I did not want to surprise anyone into accidentally shooting an arrow through their queen.
Just as I emerged into the sunlight, I turned at the sound of shifting pebbles behind me to see that Garrett had finally made his way through the tunnel. He leaned heavily on the stone wall beside him, completely out of breath. I could see the worried look in his eyes.
“Relax my love. They are on our side.”
He sat down on the ground right where he was. Our warriors just scrambled around him as I sent them in to retrieve our things and take care of Oscar’s body. After this, I would make sure no one would ever enter that dungeon again.
We moved to sit down on a couple of large rocks while the burial took place and a sling was made to carry Garrett. While we waited, I gave him the highlights of everything that had transpired in his absence, from Reilly’s betrayal to Rian telling me where he could be found.
He did not ask any questions but agreed that we should return to Gilvary from here. His mother and brothers needed him more now than ever. He needed to get somewhere to rest for a while so he could heal and regain his strength. It would possibly aid in his family’s emotional healing if they could see for themselves that he was indeed still with us. Besides, my horse was there. I could only hope Torin had forgiven me by then.
Twenty-Six
Garrett
THE TIME SPENT at Gilvary had done much toward my physical healing, but I was ready to go home now, home to Aisling. It must be considered strange to feel that a place where I had spent so little of my life would be home to me, but I belonged there. I missed the ocean and the people, the warmer weather, and spending time with my wife out on our balcony. I was happier there than I had ever been in my native kingdom.
We had been traveling at a leisurely pace for days. There were warriors surrounding us for our protection, but they were careful to keep an open perimeter around us, allowing for some privacy in our conversations as usual. We had both been silent for the last little while. Dragon’s Keep was within view. I could not see all of it clearly yet, but I knew what lay at the bottom, and I dreaded seeing that place again. I had been tortured still in almost every one of my dreams since I was rescued a month ago. Brianna was always there to shake me out of them, night after night.
I did not think I would ever want to talk about what happened in that dungeon, but I could not seem to get away from it. Though she must have hated my father, she had been right there just listening and giving me her unending love and support without a word against him.
We had been through so much in the last three months since our wedding day. We had both changed. We seemed to have aged years instead of months. I do not know what I would have done without her. God had blessed me beyond anything I could have expected when He chose her to be my wife, and I have no doubt that it was Him doing the choosing. Brianna had shared with me how she had prayed for her future spouse.
My mother was taking everything the hardest. I was told that she had not left her chambers since my father’s death. She was no longer the same beautiful and vibrant woman. I prayed she would be better in time. I tried to console her, but I had to admit that my efforts were weak, at best. The only time she seemed to perk up was when Terence came to see her.
I am not sure he understood everything that was going on. We all decided it was best to only give him whatever information he asked for. He knew that Father was gone, but I was not sure he realized that it was at the hand of our mother. And he had no idea what had happened to me in that dungeon. He had invented a scenario on his own that I had somehow been injured while coming there for a visit, and we decided to leave it at that.
Rian, on the other hand, was burdened with too much information, especially for a nine-year-old child. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for him to have witnessed Father’s death. He was not told the details, but he was aware of who had been responsible for my torture. By the look on his face when he saw me, you would have thought he was the guilty one.
The stress has been hard on the once carefree Reagan as well. He arrived back at Gilvary less than a week after we did. He had always made it clear that he never wanted to be king. Now he had all of the responsibilities without the power of the title behind it, which was even worse. His biggest hope for now was for Mother to make a recovery and remarry. I was sure that would happen in time.
Either way, this kingdom would probably be in turmoil for years to come. Although there was relief for most now that they were out from under Father’s unfair practices, others were still loyal to his memory. Brianna and I agreed to aid and guide Reagan in any way possible.
My attention was brought back to the present when Brianna leaned over and tapped my arm. “Look!”
I shaded my eyes to look up to where she was pointing. It was too far away for clear details, but something was flying around at the very top of Dragon’s Keep. This winged creature appeared to be larger than any bird I had ever seen. Another slightly smaller one joined in on its flight.
I squinted, trying to make out the details. “Do you think there really are dragons living up there?”
“I cannot tell what they are for sure, but I can see why people would think that. Look at how big they are. I have never seen a bird that big, have you? Oh, I wish we had those spectacles of yours. Then we could have a better loo
k.”
The two creatures seemed to fly into the side of the butte, disappearing from view. There must have been a cave near the top. I had to admit there was still a part of me that wanted to climb up there and explore. We spent a lot of time craning our necks as we got closer, but we never saw the creatures again.
Before I knew it, we were upon the castle ruins. As I looked at the rubble, all of the nightmarish memories came flooding in. A part of me wanted to race past without giving it another glance, but I could not tear my eyes away from it. The entrance leading to the dungeon had been covered with rock to keep anyone from entering. We had already started on plans to use the stone from this site to pave part of this main road.
“I think I am with child.”
My mind was slow to catch up to what Brianna had said. I turned to look at her.
“Did you hear me? I am pretty sure you are going to be a father. I am going to let Healer Kerwin check to be sure once we get to the fort, but I am almost positive.”
I reached across and dragged my wife from her horse, pulling her into my embrace. She threw her arms around my neck and gave me a long, hard kiss. “How long have you known?”
“I have suspected for over a month now. Then right before we left Gilvary I started feeling fluttering low in my stomach, so I talked to the healer there. I would not allow him to examine me, but he did say that he believed I was right.”
I placed my hand over her stomach, and she laughed. “You will not be able to feel it from the outside yet.”
I just nodded but kept my hand there anyway, thinking about the changes ahead and actually looking forward to seeing my wife rounded with our child. “Why did you not allow the healer to examine you?”
“I mean no offense, but I do not trust too many people in Gilvary right now. Besides, I knew it would only be a matter of days before seeing Kerwin. I could wait that long.”
“Why are you just now telling me?”
Her smile became lopsided. She placed her hand on the side of my face and looked deep into my eyes. “I knew this moment would be hard for you. I hoped this news would ease your pain a little.”
We had been plodding along throughout this whole exchange. I glanced over and saw that we had come even with the castle ruins, the home of my nightmares. I looked back at my beautiful wife, taking in her auburn hair, hazel eyes, and full lips. I was already hoping our first child would be a girl, and it was my wish that she would look just like her mother.
I kissed Brianna on the tip of her cute little upturned nose and smiled. “That is one of the things I love about you. You care so much about my wellbeing. I have never had that before.”
“I love you as well. God blessed me far beyond what I deserve when he gave me you.”
“I cannot understand why you would think that. I have brought you nothing but trouble.”
“Garrett, you have given me more joy than I have ever known.” I did not know how to respond to that, so I just held her closer and kissed her again.
This book is dedicated to my children:
to the miracle children that I was not supposed to have,
but God had other plans;
to my practice children,
my pretend children,
and my children-in-law;
to my grandchildren, present and future;
and to anyone who has ever allowed me to mother them.
You belong to me and I love all of you dearly.
I owe a debt of gratitude to my best friend, Jesus, for His love and guidance.
Thanks to everyone who thought I could do it and to those who didn’t. I love you all!
To my mother, Marie Boyd, for your undying support. You have always known I would do this, didn’t you?
To Tammy for the wonderful cover art, and for when you overheard a private conversation between me and God, you looked at me with all confidence and said, “You’re going to write a book!”
To Kris McFalls, my earliest reader, thanks for believing my characters to be real. Your need for spoilers has helped keep me going.
To my beta readers, Ashleigh Payton, Brandi Peterson, Stacy McFalls and Karen Giles, your input was invaluable. I can’t wait to do it again, how about you?
Thanks to Cindy Johnson for helping to clean up my act. High school English was a long ways back for me. It is a shame how much I had forgotten.
Thanks to Daniel Todd for helping to smooth out the battle scene.
To Angela Johnson for bringing Brianna to life.
And for anyone who has ever prayed for me—I thank you.
Finally, to my readers, I did it all for you. I hope you enjoyed it! I would love to hear from you. My email address is [email protected].
If you’d like to stay informed about future books, want to know about sales before they happen, and you like chances to win free stuff, sign up for my newsletter! I promise not to spam you! You will find a link on my website- www.andreaboyd11.com, along with other info about my books.
A good review is always appreciated! Thanks!
Bio: Each of Andrea Boyd’s series represents a different genre but all fall into the category of romance. All offer an element of her own brand of humor. And all are a tribute to God.
Besides writing, she loves spending time with her family, quilting, going to car shows, and driving around in her 1968 Barracuda convertible.
Andrea lives with her husband, Tommy, and at least a couple of cats in York County, SC.
Books by Andrea Boyd
The Kingdoms of Kearnley Series
Securing Aisling
Healing Gilvary
Restoring Dermot
Sweet Tea Holiday Collection
Heart’s Desire – New Year’s Eve
Mistletoe Kiss – Christmas (2018)
Walden Beach Series/Contemporary Romance
Irresistibly Yours
Persuaded
Love’s Redemption (2019)
Blurb for Healing Gilvary
The crown prince would love nothing more than to make the newly appointed castle healer his wife, but she has no intentions of becoming the future ruler of Gilvary. Will he ever convince her otherwise?
Prince Reagan Barnali never expected to end up as ruler of Gilvary, but after the death of his father and older brother, he has no choice but to take the reins. He is worried about his mother who has suffered a break down in health since her husband’s death, and he also has the sole responsibility of his two younger brothers. Despite all of these burdens, he still has time to think about the only woman he has ever wanted to settle down with—Gwendolyn Alexander. He has somehow persuaded her to leave her home and come to Gilvary as the castle healer, now if he could just convince her into becoming his wife, it would make everything better.
Gwen jumps at the opportunity for a fresh start. There has been nothing wrong with her life up until now other than the fact that she has lived in her best friend’s shadow, and her father still sees her as his little girl. Can she really take on the job of healer? The flirting begins as soon as she arrives in Gilvary, but she is familiar with Prince Reagan’s bad-boy ways. Just when she finally surrenders her trust, trouble from his past arrives.
A law enacted by his own father could force him to marry another. Could it be God’s will keeping Reagan and Gwen apart?
BLURB FOR RESTORING Dermot
The long-lost prince finally makes his trek home only to be held captive when he reaches Dermot. Will the king persuade him to marry his daughter and forever change the course of his future?
Rian Barnali, Gilvary’s youngest prince, has not spoken to his family since he left the country ten years ago. He has made amends with God, and now it is time to reconnect with his family. He makes it as far as Dermot, where he is held captive by King Farris. The king has a plan for Rian, and he will do whatever it takes to ensure Rian marries his daughter.
Princess Adrika is little more than a token used to advance her father’s plans. Marrying Rian would place her un
der the rule of two stubborn men instead of one, but it may be a better alternative than marrying a stranger from her mother’s homeland—a place where women are of no consequence.
Whatever the choice, there will be a price to pay for all concerned.
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