The Quelling Tide (The Gifted Realm Book 7)

by Jillian Neal

  Dan’s mother picked at her chicken and ate a little spinach from the salad.

  “Now,” she drawled when there was a lull in the conversation. “Daniel, Fionna, your father and I really feel that though you’ve gone ahead and married without us that we would very much like to host a reception for the two of you here, so that we can celebrate with you.

  “We would like to allow our friends to be a part of your celebration. I’m not certain what you were thinking with all of that.” She gestured to the photo album in the living room. “But your father holds an extremely important role in the Realm, Daniel. I don’t mind telling you that your decision to elope in Hawaii isn’t the image that our family is trying to uphold.

  “I’ve taken the liberty of booking the Fairmount Garden Room in a few week’s time. This will be a formal affair, black tie, so if you’re going to insist on Aida attending, she’ll need to understand that her best manners will be expected. Perhaps I’ll just take her shopping so we can find an appropriate dress for the evening. Fionna, you will need a gown and shoes for this event.”

  Fury pulsed from every cell in Dan’s body.

  “Dan,” he heard Fionna’s warning tone, but she sounded rather distant as anger rang in his ears.

  “If I insist that my daughter attend my wedding reception! The one that I never agreed that to having!” he roared. “And not that I give a damn what image you’re trying to uphold Mother, but just for your information we did not elope in Hawaii! We had a wedding ceremony where we were married!”

  “You know what Mom, you go right ahead and have yourself the reception you’ve always dreamed of! Book the Fairmount! Invite your friends! Serve what ever the hell you’ve decided we’re having, and by all means have it all on fine china, but you can do it without Fionna and I because we won’t be there!

  “What you seemed to have missed out on entirely is that my marriage, my family, that’s what matters to me! In fact, they are all that matter to me!”

  “Our wedding was perfect because it was for us! It was what we needed after all of the hell we went through at the hands of Wretchkinsides. After all of the hell I put her through though! She’d done nothing at all but somehow manage to love me, and that’s what we needed to heal! That’s what we needed to move on after all of the loss. The commitment I made to her standing on the shores of Kauai isn’t something that I take lightly! It’s forever, for the rest of our lives no matter what life may bring. My marriage is so much more important than some fucking reception so that you can show off to all of your friends! And you know what else Mother, our wedding was perfect because you didn’t have one fucking thing to do with it!”

  Unable to see anything at all except violent red throbbing energy spilling out of his pores, Dan tossed his napkin down, grabbed his riding jacket and, raced to the garage. The Agusta roared to life. He let the soothing rattle of the motor eased his incensed rhythms as he flew away.

  Not certain how he’d even gotten there, Dan shut down the bike and slung his leg off of it.

  Governor Haydenshire must’ve heard the gates open and the bike pull into the barn. He met Dan in the grassy lane between the barn and the farmhouse.

  “Want a beer?” He handed him the bottle he’d carried out with him.

  Neither certain nor caring where he was being taken, Dan followed the Crown Governor to the back yard and towards the small lake on the property.

  Dan listened to the gravel on the shoreline crunch under his boots as they walked.

  “Your lovely wife phoned me. She seemed to think you might end up out here.”

  Harrowing guilt flooded through Dan. “Oh my God! I left them with my mother!” He turned to sprint back to the bike to go back home.

  “Dan.” The Governor halted his escape. “Your father took your mother home. Fionna and Kara are playing with Aida. You scared her son.”

  Dan’s head dropped in abject defeat. He was a horrible husband and a horrible father. Her jerked his bicep out of the Governor’s hand. “I have to go apologize and tell her I’ll never do that again.”

  “Don’t do that.” Governor Haydenshire soothed. “Aida will be all right. Kids are shockingly resilient. You are human, Daniel, and forgive me for stating the obvious, but you do have a bit of a temper, son. I will say that it’s dramatically improved since you and Fionna decided to cram three or four years worth of life into three or four months.”

  “I have to go back and tell them both how sorry I am.” Dan continued to argue.

  “They already know that, but I’m not going to force you to stay here. That probably wouldn’t be great for my health, if I tried, but since you did fly in here on your escape vehicle, how about a little advice before you head home?”

  Assuming that he could use all the advice he could get on being a better husband and father, Dan hoped Governor Haydenshire would talk quickly.

  “I heard the tale from Fionna’s point of view, and I’ll tell you what I think might’ve set you off. You tell me if I’m wrong. Your mother has always been your mother.” He chuckled. “And you’ve never really accepted her for who she is anymore than she can bear to accept you for you.

  “First, don’t feel badly for losing your temper with her. She drove Lillian over the edge at the hospital, and my wife has the patience of a saint. But let’s talk about why her planning a party for you and Fionna pissed you off so much.”

  Dan rolled his eyes. The disgust of his mother’s words began to permeate his mind again.

  “If I were to take a guess, I’d say that you aren’t the same guy that you were even six months ago. That a safe bet?” He asked wryly.

  “Yes.” Dan was still anxious to try and repair the damage he’d done.

  Giving him a grin that said for him to simmer down, the Governor continued. “But you see, son, there’s a little more to it than that. Over the last ten years, you turned yourself into something almost unrecognizable to those of us that raised you and loved you. You got yourself into a fair amount of trouble. Joseph pulled you out of the wells of death that you continued to throw yourself headfirst into, and he gave you a goal. But then the goal became your drug.

  “Fast forward ten years, and you walked out of a bar with a gift from heaven. You walked into a real life. She is the only thing that made you forget all of those wells that you so often considered going back to drink from.

  “Forgive me for not giving this the gravity that it deserves, but I understand you’d like to go back home and soothe the pain you created. You accomplished the goal. You walked through the hell again. Only this time, life was waiting on you on the shores of Kauai, and you knew that she was your saving grace. So, you held on with both hands, and here we stand on my lake. Nothing has ever pissed you off more than something that scares you, Daniel, because so few things ever really have. You’re terrified of losing her and you’re scared of what you did to save her. And that pisses you off.”

  “You want so badly for everyone around you to see and to understand that you aren’t the guy you pretended to be for the last decade. You want people to understand what Fionna did for you. You want her to have credit for being the tremendous woman that she is. You want to know that people believe that you’ve changed. You want to rid yourself of what you took on when you killed him, and your mother wants to throw a party for her friends.”

  “Nothing wrong with a party, but you see you understand the difference in the wedding and the marriage. You know which one really matters, and you still feel so guilty for what happened with the baby, for Fionna’s injuries, and her being afraid to tell you she was pregnant. So, when your mother made her feel unimportant, when she attacked all of the healing that Kauai offered both of you, you came out swinging because that’s who you are. You couldn’t stand to allow her to be hurt again certainly not at the hands of your own mother.

  “You just couldn’t stand it that your own mother can’t see all that Fionna’s done for you. Here’s the thing about life, Dan. You can’t change w
hat you did. You can’t make people open their eyes and see. People will always only see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. If that weren’t the case, about half of the newspapers in the Realm would be out of business tomorrow.”

  “On the other hand, you do know what she did for you, and you know how much you love and adore that woman and that little girl that God just literally handed to you.”

  Dan nodded and attempted to dam back tears with his fingers.

  “Maybe put all of the guilt-driven energy you used to bawl out your mother into making certain that Fionna and Aida know and never doubt how very much you love them. You’ll find that the more you feel like you’ve done right by them the less your mother’s or anyone else’s opinions will matter to you. It will also convince you over time that no matter how much of Nic Wretchkinside’s energy you took on that it will not change the man that you are. And maybe let your mom throw her party.” He shook his head.

  Dan tried desperately to believe Governor Haydenshire’s words. He was just so afraid that he’d done nothing more than trap the demon inside of himself.

  “You know, Joseph used to say you didn’t have to hold all the Aces, you just have to play the hand your dealt well.” Governor Haydenshire reminded Dan. “Son, you’ve had a hell of a game to only be 32 years old. No one would’ve blamed you for throwing the hand in and walking away, but you didn’t. Now, you’re not only getting to play with a whole new deck you’ve turned up the Queen of Hearts. Play this hand with a little more thought, a little more consideration than you played the last few with, okay?”

  “It’s just a party, Daniel. It would make her happy, and it might be a nice opportunity to show off the new Daniel Vindico and his beautiful family.

  “You already know that life doesn’t have to be perfect according to someone else’s definition. It just has to be right for the people living it, so let your mother throw her party because to her that’s perfect. You pull your lovely bride into your arms, hold her close, and dance at the party that’s for the two of you. Laugh and whisper about how neither of you wanted it at all, and in that moment Daniel, realize that you can’t change the past. You took him on, and you won. If you’re scared that he’s the reason you ran away tonight, then learn to control your temper and you’ll have beaten him again. Let it go and let Fionna and Aida finish healing you.”

  Summoning and making the Agusta fly, Dan arrived home in less than fifteen minutes.

  “I’m so sorry,” he pled as soon as he vaulted through the door. Fionna gave him his smile.

  She was drinking tea on the couch. “I’m glad you’re home.”

  “Fi, I’m so, so sorry!”

  She reached for him and he raced to hold her close. “It’s okay. It actually means a lot to me that it pissed you off so much, but maybe dropping f-bombs in front of our little girl wasn’t the best idea.”

  Dan squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He wished he could somehow take it all away.

  “Is she okay? Where is she?” Dan scanned the room in search of Aida.

  “I let her take a bubble bath, and we talked about why you’d gotten so upset. She knows it had nothing to do with her, but you might need to go over that again. I promised you were coming back after you calmed down. She fell asleep while Kara read to her. She’s okay Dan, but we do have to deal with your mom a little differently.”

  “I just can’t tell you how sorry I am.” Learn to control your temper and you’ll have beaten him again. He’d taken down Wretchkinsides, but he wasn’t certain he could fight his own nature.

  “This has kind of been a lot lately. It will be okay. We’ll figure it out. As long as I have you, we’ll make this work, okay?” Fionna vowed.

  She set her teacup on the table beside her and he felt her warm soothing love begin to flow through his hands as she took them.

  “Always, Fi. I swear to you, I will always be here. I don’t know what I was thinking leaving like that. It wasn’t to get away from here or you or Aida. I was just so furious.”

  “I know, Dan.” Fionna continued to soothe him, to accept him even though he didn’t deserve her offered reprieve. “Please stop beating yourself up for this. You have no idea how much it means to me that you think our wedding was perfect. I was a little worried that it was only perfect for me and not you.”

  Shock worked through Dan’s sorrow. “No, baby, believe me, I loved every moment of that day and every moment of every day that I get to spend with you. Being your husband, being Aida’s dad, everything that’s happened, I just sort of freaked out.”

  Fionna giggled. “Well, I’d say if anyone deserved that, it was you. You’re still way behind me on the freak out scale since we started dating, fell in love, moved in together, fell even more in love, ended an evil crime organization, lost a baby, got married, and adopted a little girl in five months time.”

  Before Dan could respond, Aida appeared barely awake and carrying Sophie. “You came back.” Her voice was barely a whisper and she stayed out of Dan’s reach. It killed him that he’d frightened her.

  Not certain he could take her pulling back, Dan didn’t reach for her. “I’m so sorry, Aida. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. Please, baby, believe me, I was never upset with you or with Fionna. And even if I had been, I still shouldn’t have yelled like that, and I certainly shouldn’t have left. I will do anything to make it up to both of you.” He had an overwhelming desire to throw himself at her feet in a plea for mercy.

  She smiled at him and then brought tears to his eyes as she crawled up in his lap and formed herself into a tight ball.

  Fionna’s hand flew to her mouth as Dan cradled her closely just the way he cradled Fionna when she formed herself in the same shape.

  “It’s okay, but when you get mad you’re supposed to count to eleven and do this.” Aida drew a loud breath.

  Shocked by his own smile, Dan chuckled. “I will definitely do that next time.”

  “I don’t like it when you leave,” she confessed in a heart broken plea as she clung to him.

  “Aida,” Dan watched as she raised her tear-filled eyes to his. “I promise that I won’t ever get mad and leave like that ever again, but sometimes Fi and I are going to have to leave and go to work, or the store, or some other place, but we will always come back and get you, sweetheart.”

  “Like tomorrow,” Fionna rubbed Aida’s back. “Dan and I are going to go to the Arena for a little while because I have to work, but you get to go have breakfast with Garrett and go play on the farm. When we’re finished, we’ll be back to pick you up.”

  Aida’s entire body convulsed as she started to sob. Panic shot through Dan like a bullet. “What’s wrong, baby?”

  “My mommy and daddy and all of my big brothers went away and then they didn’t come back. They didn’t ever, ever come back!”

  Dan felt his heart shatter and fall into the pieces that Fionna had so recently put back together. Huge tears flowed down Fionna’s beautiful face as Dan attempted to hold both of them.

  Suddenly, Fionna drew a deep breath and determination set on her features. “Aida, when I was a little girl, just a little bit older than you, my mommy went away and didn’t come back.”

  Aida’s breath caught. She trembled in Dan’s arms. She sat up as he tried desperately to soothe both of them.

  “She did?”

  “Yes, but, sweetheart, she didn’t want to go away, and your mommy and daddy didn’t want to go away either. They wanted very much to come back to you.”

  Aida looked unsure.

  “If you’d like to tell Dan and I about your mommy and daddy and your brothers, we would love to hear about your family.”

  Stunned disbelief etched Aida’s precious face. “You would?” She whispered to Dan.

  He nodded through his own tears. “Very much, baby.”

  “Sister Mary Francis said I shouldn’t talk about them because it made me sad.”

  Fionna wiped away her tears and kissed the top
of Aida’s head. “She just didn’t want you to be sad, Aida, but sometimes talking about them helps us not be sad anymore.”

  Dan and Fionna shared a heartbroken gaze. Their precious baby girl hadn’t dealt with her crippling losses, and she hadn’t even been allowed to discuss them.

  “Will you tell me about your mommy?”

  “Sure,” Fionna agreed.

  “Okay.”

  Two hours and two mugs of tea created by Tutu out of passion flowers and chamomile later, Dan carried his little girl to her bed. She was sound asleep. She’d told Dan and Fionna her parents and brother’s names and a few stories that she remembered.

  Fionna shared a few stories of things she and her mother used to do when she was Aida’s age. Dan had listened intently to every story soaking them up like life’s breath to a drowning man.

  He settled Aida’s fairy princess quilt over her and brushed a kiss across her cheek as Fionna laid Sophie in the bed beside her.

  He followed his wife into their room and smiled as he heard the bath water begin running. Several minutes and numerous drops of Tutu’s oils later, Dan and Fionna soaked away their arduous night.

  “You’re an incredible mom, Fi.”

  “It helps to know what she’s going through.”

  “I imagine it helps to be an incredible woman.”

  She sighed out her disagreement.

  He rubbed his hands slowly up and down her back rubbing the oils into her soft skin. “Governor Haydenshire thinks we should let mom have her thing.” He was still furious about the entire concept.

  “I kind of thought that, too. It hurts my feelings that to her we’re not really married because we didn’t do it her way, but on the other hand, I would be hurt if my son got married without me.”

  Dan didn’t comment on the thirty year relationship between he and his mother that had led to her being cut out of their wedding.

  “Honestly, baby doll, that’s why I got so mad. I saw that she was hurting your feelings, and I just sort of snapped.”

  He felt Fionna smile against him. “I know and that was really, really sweet. Kara told me that you’d never blown up at her like that.”