by Anne Bishop
“I could if you weren’t holding me down. Let me up. There’s a stone digging into my butt.”
He helped her sit up, then pulled her into his arms and hung on, choking on the sobs that were going to explode out of him at any moment.
“You foolish woman,” he said, his voice breaking. “Why did you do that? I asked Glorianna to let you have your heart’s desire. I asked her, heart-to-heart. And she would have given it to you, because I asked. Heart’s Justice or not, she would have done it.”
“And she did,” Lynnea said, reaching up to rest a hand against his face. “She did give me my heart’s desire. I wanted to be with you.”
He cried. He couldn’t stop it, couldn’t hold the tears back. “I love you, Lynnea. I love you.”
“And I love you, Sebastian. With all my heart.”
He sniffed, brushed away the tears. Tried to regain some control. “We’ll make a good life. Somehow we’ll make a good life.”
“Yes, we will. Together. But…”
He felt her head move as she looked around. No, he saw her head move.
It wasn’t quite as dark as it had been a few minutes ago.
“Where are we?” Lynnea asked.
He looked around—and felt a jolt deep in his gut. It couldn’t be. Could it?
The lake. The line of tall bushes that had been planted as a windbreak. The trees. And there. The long break in the trees that gave him a clear view of the lake…and the moonlight.
“I think I know where we are,” he said, pulling Lynnea to her feet. “Come on.” Taking her hand, he led her through the trees until they reached a dirt lane.
“It’s your cottage,” Lynnea whispered.
“Our cottage.”
He approached it slowly, studying it in the strange gray light. It was definitely his cottage, but it wasn’t the same landscape. There was something very odd about this moonlight.
He frowned at the cottage. The shutters needed painting.
“Sebastian?”
The moonlight had never made that apparent before.
“Sebastian.”
He turned, felt a fizz of panic when he realized Lynnea had wandered a little way away and was staring at the break in the trees. When she started heading toward the cliff and the lake, he hurried after her.
“Lynnea, wait. We don’t know anything about this landscape. We don’t—” He stopped. Stared.
“Oh,” Lynnea said, laughing and crying. “Oh, Sebastian.” She flung her arms around him. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
He couldn’t speak. He just stared, blinking back tears. He hadn’t seen one in fifteen years. He wanted to see every moment of this one.
With his arms wrapped around Lynnea, he watched the sun rise.
Thank you, Glorianna Belladonna.
In sunlight, they walked back to the cottage and heard someone calling, “Hey-a, the house!”
Hurrying around the cottage, they saw Jeb standing near the trees, holding a basket. Relief swept over the other man’s face when he saw them.
“How…?” Sebastian said.
“Glorianna came by yesterday and told us about your being taken to Wizard City. She said if you followed your heart, this is where we’d find you come morning.” Jeb grinned at Lynnea. “And here you are.” Then he sobered. Looking at Sebastian, he added, “I think she’s been waiting these past few years for you to be ready to walk in the Light again. Guess you finally found a reason to try.”
“Guess I have,” Sebastian said, his voice thick with too many feelings. The heart had no secrets from Glorianna Belladonna.
“But…where are we?”
Jeb scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I’m not a Landscaper, so I can’t tell you for certain, but from what I gathered, the Den is still down the lane that way. And if you follow the lane the other way, you’ll come to the main road that leads into Aurora.”
“Then the cottage must belong to somebody.” Sebastian felt a pang of regret. While the cottage had been lost in a dark landscape, whoever owned it wouldn’t want it, even if the person could have found it. Now…
“Your auntie owns the cottage and the land around it. She and Glorianna…Well, you’ll have to ask them how they worked things out between them.” Jeb studied the back of the cottage. “Shutters could use a coat of paint. I can give you a hand with that, if you like.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s a kindness. Oh. Your auntie sent this basket.” Jeb put the basket down beside Lynnea. “Figured you wouldn’t have anything to eat here. She said you’re welcome to come by for dinner tonight.”
“I need to check on the Den tonight. I want to make sure everyone is all right.”
“Well, tomorrow then. Glorianna and Lee will be coming for dinner. Reckon you’ll need to talk to Lee about what bridges might be needed now that the landscape has altered.”
“Oh!” Lynnea said. “Is the bridge to Nadia’s house still in the woods?”
Jeb chuckled. “No need for a bridge anymore. You’re in the same landscape. Just follow the path. That’s where it’s always led.” He shifted his feet. Studied the cottage’s roof.
“Was there something else?” Sebastian asked.
“Coupla things, actually. First…” Jeb dug into his pocket. “Your auntie wasn’t sure either of you would have a key on you, so she sent this one along. Second…” Now he looked uncomfortable. “I know folks in the Den might see things differently than in other landscapes, and I know you’re both straddling a line here, but you’re going to be spending time in Aurora, too, shopping and whatnot. The thing is, if you don’t want some folks saying things they’ve got no business saying, you should marry the girl.”
Sebastian tipped his head. “I could say the same to you.”
Jeb looked sheepish. “I did ask her.”
“And?” He drawled the word.
Jeb squared his shoulders. “Your auntie said she’d marry me a week to the day after you become a husband.”
Sebastian gave Jeb a wolfish smile. “Tell Aunt Nadia her wedding is two weeks from today.” Then he realized he’d missed a step when Lynnea just cocked her head and looked at him. “If you wouldn’t mind getting married a week from today. And…if you’re willing to marry me.”
“Is that a proposal?” Lynnea asked, sounding puzzled enough to make him sweat.
“A fumbled one,” Jeb said sourly, “but it sounded like a proposal to me.”
Lynnea threw her arms around Sebastian’s neck. “No, I don’t mind, and yes, I’ll marry you!”
Wrapping his arms around her, he swung her in a circle. When he set her down, he lowered his head to give her a kiss that would make the air sizzle. Before his lips touched hers, Jeb cleared his throat.
Sebastian rested his forehead against Lynnea’s. “Are you still here?”
“One other thing your auntie wanted me to mention.”
His auntie was a bundle of messages.
“A mated pair of keets hatched three babies a few weeks ago. Nadia thought maybe you’d—”
“A baby Sparky?” Lynnea’s eyes shone with excitement.
Seeing that look in her eyes, Sebastian stifled a groan. He could learn to live with a little featherhead.
“You can take a look at them when you come to dinner.” Lifting two fingers in a salute, Jeb finally turned and walked back into the woods.
“This is what I wanted,” Lynnea said, looking at the sunlit grass behind the cottage. “For you. For me. For us.”
And you’re everything I wanted, even during the years when I didn’t know what I was looking for, waiting for.
Sebastian brushed his lips over hers. Then he unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Welcome home, Lynnea.”
She smiled. “Welcome home, Sebastian.”
Picking up the basket, he followed her into the cottage.
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