Blessedly Bound

by Lucretia Stanhope

  She smiled. “That would be perfect. I'm sold.” She made an offer and Lewis picked up the lamp for her. “I'm glad you came,” she said as they strolled the vendors together.

  “I wanted you to know that I know I shouldn't have behaved like that. I'm sorry.”

  She stopped walking and looked at him.

  He did feel different today. There wasn't any anger.

  Sadness filled her features. “I'm sorry I made you feel that way.”

  He shook his head. “It's not you.”

  “Yes, I've been as much a jerk as you were. You aren't just my teacher; you are my best friend. My first real love. That will never change.”

  “Something did change.” He added her newest purchase to his load.

  She fought back the pain his words brought on. The mirror she spotted for her bathroom would have been too much for him so she carried it and they walked the growing armload of things to her truck.

  Once unloaded, they headed back to the bizarre again. She decided to try a fried candy bar and one of the hand-held pot pies from Mel. They stood in the very long line at Mel's food stand, and when they got to the head of the line, Mel beamed her usual hello.

  “Oh, Gwen, who's your friend?”

  Gwen smiled at her. “This is Lewis. We went to school together. Lewis, this is Mel, the best cook in Kansas.”

  Lewis also ordered a fried cake for appearances and after they walked away gave it to Gwen, knowing she was always up for extra desert, especially cake.

  Hours later, with sore feet and more things to put away they headed back for the truck again.

  “I would never hurt you, Gwen. I am in a dark place and I lost my temper, but I hope you know I will always love you.”

  “You are still feeling dark and betrayed? What can we do to fix this with us? How can I make it better?”

  “I'm not sure we can. I need space, and time. I think you will be safe here with Sebastian.” His voice reflected his sadness.

  She sensed he thought a lot about it and this was his decision. “You are leaving me? For real?”

  “Yes, for a little while at least. You can always summon me if you really need me. If you really need me.”

  She thought about arguing, asking, or even pleading with him to stay, but she didn't. She felt bad for making his life all about her. He needed this time, his time to feel what it was like to be him. She could give him the time and the space he needed. He would come back to her. She hoped he would. They were linked at a deeper level. They would always be together. Wouldn't they?

  “Lewis, why did you take my hair?”

  “I wasn't thinking clearly. I didn't do anything with it. I wouldn't. You know that, don't you?” Even as he asked he wondered himself. Would he, never? He had considered it. If he had stayed angry for just a little longer before his guilt raced in, he might have done something with it, might have taken it to Fannie.

  “Of course, I know that. I hope you find your answers soon. I will miss you. I love you,” she said and stepped to him.

  He folded her in his arms. It didn't feel the same. It felt forced. Not dangerous like before but not comforting, not anymore.

  After he left she put on the shawl and the charm, and headed back for the auction.

  As night neared, she wanted to make sure that her and Sebastian had a table near the front for the auction. She had never been to an auction before and was looking forward to seeing how it worked.

  They ended up front and center at the Yartists table, which suited her perfectly. Being with her friends gave her a sense of normalcy and having Sebastian there gave her the feeling that anything was possible, even normalcy, even with him at her side. She wanted to hold his hand but instead wrapped her magic around him as they listened to the auctioneer. The rhythmic sound of his voice as he chanted the prices relaxed her further.

  She silently told him about Lewis and felt his tender magical embrace. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,” was all he could offer. It wasn't something he could fix. It was something he could understand. To lose a magical companion, one that was connected with you like that, was a deep loss and one she would need time to get over.

  She relaxed, enjoying the private thoughts and sensations they shared. For all the initial awkwardness, tonight she was glad for the free flow. She needed to feel his love, and gentle thoughts washing over her. She hoped she wasn't making him sad with her mood.

  In answer to her thought, he squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

  When it came time for the blanket, she didn't realize how emotional it would make her. She fought back her tears and held her breath.

  Sebastian's voice was gentle in her mind. “Are you okay? Do you want to get some air?”

  “No, it’s just, Lizzy made squares in that blanket. It was the last thing she was working on.”

  He felt her attachment to those squares, saw the memory of her holding the fabric in her hand, and knew what they meant to her. “I see,” he said and raised his finger.

  The bids went back and forth and everyone was surprised as it passed the hundreds and was now over a thousand dollars.

  “Sebastian,” she whispered.

  He smiled and raised his finger, looking toward the man who was bidding against him.

  The older man smiled at him, and raised his hand.

  Kathy looked at Sebastian and Gwen and was about to suggest they make one for Sebastian if he really wanted one that badly, when she realized why he was bidding. She smiled and reached out, squeezing Gwen's hand. Had she thought about it sooner, she probably would have assigned those squares to someone else to redo and gave them to Gwen. Kathy hadn't been thinking too clearly herself, with the murder and upcoming festival as a distraction.

  The other bidder finally gave up when Sebastian upped the stakes, taking the bid from two thousand to five thousand. The whole room hushed and he was counted as the winning bidder.

  After the auction ended, he left her with the ladies while he sorted the blanket, and then they decided to go to her house so he could help her unload all the things she bought at the bazaar.

  “R emind me what tomorrow has in store for us,” he asked, as he walked in the last load of things. “You sure did find a lot,” he added.

  “Well I have a big place to decorate. Tomorrow is the livestock show. I am thinking I will turn up late, just long enough to say I did. We are both expected at the hoedown.”

  “Hoedown? Really, can't we find some other way to spend our night? We could have our own dance at the lake,” he offered, and took her hand, twirling her once before pulling her close.

  Her mind tried to respond, but as she stood so close to him, feeling him against her, feeling the way their connection pulsed and tugged, she couldn't. She hadn't been close to him with the connection as well, without her mind being distracted with sad things. The sensations were overwhelming. The draw to him was powerful. Her hands slid around his waist, sending waves of tingles racing across his skin. She tilted her head up and kissed his chin, her lips soft against him, burning hot with desire.

  His eyes closed and he held her against him.

  Her kisses trailed across his jaw and cheek.

  When he felt her lips on his, one of his hands reached up in her hair, pulling her to him as he kissed her deeply. The heat of the kiss seemed to reach his soul and tug at a need he had been struggling to silence since she appeared in his world.

  When they broke the kiss to breathe, their eyes locked.

  He saw she had a desire that matched his own. He could feel it in her thoughts, feel it in the air. He could also feel doubt, and fear, which quickly reminded him that he was something to be feared, not something for Gwen. Something in her touch and kiss had made him forget his decision to be what she needed and not what he wanted, not even if she wanted it too. “I'm sorry,” he said and stepped back. “It's been an emotional night and I shouldn't have.”

  “I think I got caught up in it as well,” she said and blushed. If he
knew the thoughts she had about him. She tugged off the shawl, realizing he could know those thoughts now.

  He laughed. “It's okay. As you can hear, my thoughts have also been, well, let's get your things put away.”

  After they had things at least put in approximate places, she sat on the couch, holding the blanket. “This means more to me than you will ever know.”

  “I know. I felt it. It belonged with you.” He took the blanket and stood up, wrapping it around her and tucking in the edges.

  They sat on the couch and chatted while she had one last cup of coffee.

  “I have a gut feeling that things are about to be over. Soon, maybe Monday, the detective will call,” she said.

  “What does your gut say about the end?”

  “That it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I feel uneasy. I could just be worried about Lewis. Losing him hurts worse than I imagined it could.”

  “I'll be here and Yardley is also at your disposal. I'm not sure he would like a livestock show, but if you asked,” Sebastian said, and gave a crooked smile.

  She laughed. “I would never dream of dragging Yardley to a livestock show.”

  “No, but me and hoedowns are fair game?”

  “You'll have fun. We'll have fun,” she said, and leaned against him.

  “I did say I would go anywhere with you,” his voice sounded playful. “I should watch what I say.”

  She left the shawl on after he left and made sure everything was locked before she laid down. As she was starting to get sleepy she reached out and hugged him, again thanking him for the blanket that she snuggled under.

  She contemplated asking him to come dream with her, but considering how the night ended, the kiss, and the uncertainty they both had, she didn't.

  He heard the question floating in her thoughts and was glad she had thought better of it, because he wasn't sure he would have said no. He wrapped his magic around her as she slept and when he felt her starting to dream of killers, he shifted her thoughts to happier things.

  Happy, peaceful things was what she deserved.

  That's not you, he reminded himself as he pulled back a little, stopping the free flow of sensations.

  Chapter Thirty

  G wen wasn't really into the livestock show, and was glad she turned up late. Mostly she just walked around, talking to the animals and waiting for time for the dance, which was actually a square dance, not a hoedown, not that she or Sebastian would know the difference.

  “Who knew there was a difference,” she whispered to the cow, as she stroked it behind the ear, looking into its big sweet eyes. She wondered if she had the right kind of land to rescue any of the cows she had been chatting with, and what it would take to make a suitable area if she did.

  As she walked around, she thought a lot about the kiss they shared and wondered if it meant anything other than they had been through a lot and had an emotional day. There were still times she thought of him as a monster and could see him fanged in her mind. She knew in her heart he was a gentle creature, but that didn't change the fact he killed.

  It wasn't really fair to him for her to kiss him and hold him that way if she knew she would always think of him as a monster. Did she? Would she? She certainly wouldn't ask for any more patience while she figured things out. He was a mentor, a true friend and she would be that for him. He needed that. He had lost his best friend just as she had. That was probably why they felt so close. Trauma had pushed them together from the start. Even as she told herself that, she knew that wasn't the extent of what was between them. She had felt pulled to him since the first day she saw him, before either said a word there was something.

  Her thoughts were broken as Kathy came up and asked for some help with setting up things in the barn for the dance.

  Gwen said goodbye to the cows and went with Kathy to get things arranged. By the time they were done, she felt Sebastian nearing. He walked in, catching several sets of eyes, wearing jeans, boots, plaid, and a cowboy hat.

  “Dear god, do you always look sexy? I don't even like cowboys as a rule,” she said when he walked over. While he might have been wearing the age glamour, it didn't change his underlying perfection.

  He laughed. “I look old enough to be your grandfather. You however,” he said, and spun her around, enjoying the way her jeans hugged her curves.

  “Mind those thoughts. I can hear you,” she said and tugged her shawl closed.

  As she expected would be the case, Sebastian was swung from one giddy woman to the next. It was fun overall, even if it was a lot of exercise and she was tired.

  She was stood, rubbing her feet and nursing a soda when Curtis walked over.

  “You letting the old people out dance you, Missy?”

  She laughed. “It would seem so.”

  “Let's go for a walk,” he said more as a demand.

  She fell in step beside him as they walked away from the barn. “Is everything okay?”

  “No, Gwen, everything is not okay.”

  “What is it, did you find out who it is?”

  “Would it matter if I said I did? Would you stop prying then?”

  “Well I assume you would tell me, wouldn't you?” She kept walking beside him. “Wouldn't you?”

  “What if I told you knowing wouldn't end well for you?”

  “Is this about his brother? You found out about his crimes? He's wanted. Look, I know he is my uncle and I know he did some very bad things. I think they include killing William and Lizzy.”

  Curtis narrowed his eyes at her. “I wish you hadn't said that, Gwen.”

  She was about to ask why, when she felt a sharp pain from the back of her head and everything went black.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “W ake up Gwen,” a soft voice rang in her thoughts.

  Gwen woke to a stabbing pain in the back of her head. She tried to think, but her mind was cloudy like she was ill and had been sleeping all day. The fog refused to clear as she tried to focus her blurry eyes. There was a soft hum and she felt movement that was making her nauseous. The slimy feeling of drool against plastic made her try to lift her head, but her effort wasn't rewarded with anything other than more pain.

  She tried again to open her eyes. They hurt, the faint light that came in from the crack in her eyelids shot a fresh pain through her head. She closed her eyes and tried to communicate with Lewis. She got no response but assumed it was because of her headache breaking her concentration. As her mind started to sharpen, she remembered that Lewis was gone. The humming continued and as she laid there, it almost soothed her, reminding her of a lazy drive.

  In a car, she was in a car.

  “Don't make him angry,” the voice said.

  “Who?” she said as a whisper. She swallowed a dry lump and licked her lips. “Hello.” Her voice sounded cracked and weak.

  “Easy there, little lady, just relax, this will all be over soon,” a different voice said.

  Her mind struggled to place the voice. It wasn't the same voice that had woken her. Little lady. She hated that. Curtis?

  “Curtis?” she asked.

  “You're gonna be foggy for a bit, doll. You took a hard hit.”

  She tried again to open her eyes, ignoring the pain as the faint light of the moon shined in, feeling as intrusive as the noonday sun. Things started to slowly come back. She had been dancing. With Sebastian.

  “Sebastian?” she said and reached up to her shoulders. Her shawl was gone. She turned her head to look around for it. The pain was making things seem like they were covered in a gray film. She realized she was in the back of his cruiser. She tried to sit up, but all that did was make her heave.

  “Don't make sick in my damn car,” he said gruffly. It was the first time she had ever heard any real emotion in his voice.

  “I don't feel well,” she managed as she tried again to sit up.

  “Lay down and shut up then,” he said, and she felt the tug of the car stronger. They were speeding
up.

  Grabbing onto the seat, she pulled herself up and saw his eyes in the rear-view mirror. Tonight they were dark, brown, with very little hint of the golds and greens she had seen in them before.

  Memories came rushing back. She was dancing with Sebastian and then she took a break. Curtis. Curtis was angry, wanted to talk. She remembered walking away with him. “He was your brother?” she asked as it all started to fall together in her mind. “But why Lizzy? Why so many years later? Did she find out?” Gwen asked, more to herself than to him.

  He didn't answer, just drove.

  “He wants family. Use that to buy time,” the voice said.

  She looked to her side and saw a faint outline of a person. Lenny? It was Lenny. He was there to help her?

  She felt herself start to hyperventilate. She had to make Curtis feel something for her. She knew from everything she had read and heard, that if a killer saw you as a person it would make it harder for them to hurt you. “You're my family, my great uncle?”

  At that, he glanced at her in the mirror, then looked back to the road.

  Her mind raced as fast as her heart. The sky started to cloud over and snow began falling. She struggled to reign in her magic, she knew she would need it soon. Her mind flipped between the thought that he killed Lizzy, to he was her only family. The two things wouldn't harmonize into one person in her head.

  “Lewis,” she called in her mind. There was no response. Maybe she could summon him when they stopped, once they were out of the car. Maybe, if he hadn't broken the connection. She looked out the window. Nothing looked familiar, it was like any other snowy wooded back road. She sensed Lenny was still beside her.

  “I've been looking for you. I wanted to know you,” she said. Her mind still wasn't as sharp as it should be, but she was trying to make herself sound tender and sincere. She had wanted to know him. Mostly, she wanted to know how or why he could do what he did.

  His cold, suspecting eyes watched her in the mirror and then he looked back at the road. The car turned and the new road they were on made for a bumpy ride as they drove deeper into the woods.