Chris shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Wonder how Laryn’s taking it, or Steve.”
“Finish your coffee and we’ll go see,” Chris said as he ate the last of his muffin.
Ten minutes later, Kevin knocked on Laryn’s front door, opened it, and walked in. The brothers were standing around the living room talking to Steve. A quick glance in the kitchen showed Kayla making tea while Danyelle sorted finger snacks on a tray.
As Kevin started down the hall towards the bedrooms, he heard Allisandra say, “You’re not doing this right, Sis. You’re supposed to sit back and let people wait on you. If you don’t let people pamper you after giving birth, they’re never going to do it, and everyone needs pampering once in a while.”
Kevin grinned as he stepped into the room. Laryn was sitting in a rocking chair with her baby. “She’s right, you know. You have a whole castle full of people who can’t wait to start spoiling you and Donovan. You ought to let them.”
Laryn’s face turned red as she shook her head. “I’m not used to being waited on.”
“What are you talking about?!” Allisandra waved her arm towards the castle. “You’ve lived in a castle most of your life. Someone cooks your meals, cleans your room, mends your clothes… This is just more of the same. So sit back and enjoy it.”
Laryn shook her head. “You’ve got it wrong, Alli. I don’t make my own clothes and I don’t usually cook, but as to the rest of it, I’ve always taken care of my own stuff.”
“You have a housekeeper! She does all that, and keeps your house clean, too!”
“A housekeeper wasn’t my idea. That’s Cryslyn’s doing.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Before Laryn could argue, Mia walked in shaking her head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but she doesn’t let me do half the work around here. About the only thing she lets me handle is the kitchen, but that’s because Steve prefers my cooking.” Mia grinned. “But now the baby’s here, she’ll have to share, and speaking of that, it’s time to put Donovan down for a bit.”
Laryn looked at the little bundle sleeping in her arms. “I hate to let him go.”
“I know, but he needs to lie down for a while.” Mia held her arms out for him. “I’ll put him down while you visit with your family. There’ll be plenty of time for you to hold him later.”
With a deep sigh, Laryn handed her son over. “Thank you, Mia.”
After Mia and Donovan left, Kevin asked, “So, how does it feel to be a mother?”
“I thought I loved him before he was born, but the feeling that hits you the first time you hold your child…” Laryn shook her head. “It’s incredible. I never knew I was capable of feeling so much love.” Then she looked at Allisandra. “Tell me it doesn’t go away.”
Allisandra laughed. “No, it doesn’t. If anything it gets stronger, but that doesn’t mean they can’t drive you crazy and make you want to send them back sometimes.”
Laryn shook her head. “Never.”
“Just wait,” Allisandra said, still laughing.
“Wait for what?” Danyelle asked as she walked in with a fresh cup of tea for Laryn.
“The time when that precious little bundle she doesn’t want to let go of now will drive her so crazy she’ll be ready for anyone to take him as long as they take him away.”
Danyelle nodded. “Oh, yeah. Many, many times. And Alli, you don’t know the half of it yet. Yours is barely walking. Wait until she’s a teenager.”
Kayla had followed Danyelle into the room and nodded. “If you’re lucky, he’ll have magic in his blood so you can foster him and not have to deal with the teenage years. If I had to keep Lysa at home, I’m not sure she’d survive. One of us would probably end up killing her, and I’m not sure which one it would be.”
Laryn frowned. “Lysa? I don’t believe you. She’s adorable, and so sweet!”
Kayla shook her head. “She better be when she’s around anyone else and she knows it. But living with her day in and day out would be a nightmare. I owe my sister more than I can ever repay for taking her. Ask Shadron. He’ll tell you.”
Kevin smiled, remembering a conversation he’d had with Shadron when Shadron had said the same thing.
“Teenagers are a different breed,” Danyelle said. “And I should know. I have two.”
Kayla nodded and looked at Laryn. “But you’ve got a while before you have to worry about that, and you have a son. Everyone knows boys are easier to deal with than girls. Now, why don’t you come speak to your brothers and then we’ll get out of here and let you rest.”
“You can’t leave yet,” Laryn insisted. “They haven’t seen Donovan.”
“I hate to tell you, but as long as they know both of you are all right, they’re fine. Besides, Miranda said they’re having a party next weekend for you and Donovan. The whole town will be here. Tolliver’s bringing the register so you can officially list him as Milhaven’s newest member of the House of Nordin. We wouldn’t miss that for the world.” Then she glanced at Kevin. “Provided our nephew agrees to pick us up.”
Kevin nodded and then turned to Laryn. “Congratulations. I’m going to get out of the way for now but I’ll be back later, after everyone’s gone. See you then.”
Chapter 30
Timera Valley
Saturday afternoon, Sister Brena sat down at her desk to go through the mail. The sister who had been head of the sisterhood before her had told her she’d come to hate the mail, but she hadn’t, at least not yet.
Some of the letters were news updates from sisters she’d known for years. Some were informative and some were requests for help. Some of the letters were from town directors requesting a sister for a new chapel. Some were from patients praising a sister for going above and beyond her duties. And intermingled among all of that, once in a while, there were complaints. Those were the ones she hated to see, and this morning the first one she opened was one of those.
Sister Brena
I’m writing to support the letter you received from Town Director Morris requesting that you remove Sister Hayley from our chapel. She has not demonstrated the caliber of moral behavior everyone expects from Sisters of Healing. She entertains men in her quarters on a regular basis and often either makes patients wait or has her aide send them away.
The people of Bridgeport would like to have a sister we can count on. Please send us a sister who will take her responsibilities seriously and who will put her patients ahead of her own personal pleasures.
Lisal
Bridgeport, Camden
Sister Brena frowned after reading the letter a second time. Director Morris had been so certain Sister Hayley was the one he wanted. From what he’d said, she was already looking after most of the townspeople as well as some families from the surrounding area.
Brena hadn’t been sure Sister Hayley was ready to go out on her own, and from the sounds of this letter, she wasn’t. But where was the letter from Director Morris? She hadn’t received anything from him since Hayley accepted his offer.
Brena got up and went in search of Verna. She found her in the workroom. “Have we gotten any mail that I don’t know about?”
Verna glanced up from what she was doing and said, “Not that I know of. I always put them on your desk as soon as they come.”
“That’s what I thought.” Brena turned and left.
“Wait a minute,” Verna called after her. “Why? Did something happen?”
“Maybe something happened to one of the falcons,” Brena said as she continued towards her office, “or maybe the person who wrote the letter I just read has it all wrong. I’m not sure, but I know how I’m going to find out.”
~~~~
Sunday morning when Kevin got to the office, there was a huge stack of mail on his desk. “Chris? What’s all this?” he called out as he sat down at his desk.
Chris stepped inside the office. “What’s all what?”
Kevin motioned towards the stack of mail.
; Chris looked back at Ariel. “Do you know why there’s a stack of mail on Myron’s desk?”
“Both of you were up all night Friday night and busy all day yesterday, so I held the mail. That’s all of it, from Friday dinner until this morning. I put them in there so the two of you could sort through them.”
“Thank you.” Chris shut the door.
Kevin handed half the mail to Chris. “Let’s sort.”
Twenty minutes later they had the mail separated into stacks, some for Chris and some for Kevin. Some could wait, but some needed to be handled immediately, and among those was a letter from Brena.
Kevin opened it first. As usual, she was short on information. All she said was she needed to see him and Theresa and would be expecting them around seven Monday evening. Kevin leaned back in his chair, wondering what might have happened now. Then he shrugged, sat up, and wrote her to say they’d see her then.
~~~~
Kevin made a quick trip out to the island Sunday evening to let Theresa know about Brena’s letter. Then, shortly after seven Monday evening, he and Theresa were sitting at the table in Brena’s kitchen with tea and cookies.
Brena took the letter she’d received from Lisal out of her pocket and handed it to Theresa. “Read this and let me know what you think.”
As Theresa read it, a frown creased her forehead. Then, when she saw the signature, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “This is a case of consider the source.” Theresa handed the letter to Kevin.
When Kevin looked at Brena, she nodded, so he read it.
Meanwhile, Brena turned to Theresa. “I don’t understand.”
“The girl who wrote this wants to run Hayley out of town,” Theresa explained. “That’s what this is about.”
“Why?”
“Marcus. Lisal’s been causing him trouble for years. She’s the reason he left Bridgeport in the first place.” Then Theresa told Brena and Kevin the things Lisal had done while Marcus was living there, and what she’d done lately, including breaking into Marcus’s house and tossing Hayley’s stuff out. “After that, Hayley moved in with Morris and Gloria until the chapel was ready. She knows how Lisal feels, but there’s not much she can do about it, and apparently Marcus can’t either. According to his sister, he’s told Lisal more than once that he’s not going to marry her, but she keeps telling anyone who’ll listen that they’re betrothed.”
“So what does that have to do with Hayley?” Brena asked.
Theresa looked at Kevin. When he nodded, she said, “Marcus and Hayley are in love.”
“But doesn’t he live in Milhaven now?”
“He does,” Kevin said, “but both his sister and his foster family live in Bridgeport. He goes up there to visit on a regular basis and Hayley used to go with him. That’s how they got to know her.”
“And why she was there the night of the raid,” Brena said, nodding. “Is he planning to go back up there to live?”
“He hasn’t said anything yet, but I’m sure he will at some point,” Kevin answered.
“Do you think they’ll get married?”
“Probably,” Theresa said. “One reason Hayley almost refused the pendant was she was afraid it meant she couldn’t marry him.”
“So she was already in love with him when she found out she had healing hands.”
Theresa nodded. “He’d been shot and she wanted to slow the bleeding until I could get there so she pressed her hand over the wound. By the time I got there, it was closed.”
Brena nodded. “So what do we do about this woman, this Lisal?”
“My suggestion would be to do nothing. But if you want me to, I could go up there for a visit and see how things are going, see if Lisal’s making too much of a nuisance of herself.”
“Thank you,” Brena said. “Could you go this weekend?”
Theresa nodded. “I could go Friday and stay until Sunday morning.” Then she looked at Kevin. “If you can take me.”
“I can, but they’re having a party for Laryn and Steve Sunday, so it’ll have to be early. Chris and I have to pick up the family Sunday morning, and everyone’s coming for this, including all the kids.”
“Laryn had her baby?” Brena asked.
Kevin smiled. “A son, Donovan.”
“And mother and child are doing well?”
Kevin nodded. “They’re fine.” Then he laughed. “The only problem is Laryn’s not used to being pampered, and everyone in town wants to pamper her.”
Brena laughed. “She’ll chase them away soon enough.”
Theresa grinned. “If there’s nothing else, I need to get back.”
“Before you go,” Brena said, looking at Kevin. “You won’t have time to bring Theresa by here Sunday morning, but if she writes me a note to let me know how things are in Bridgeport, and what, if anything, I need to do, can you make sure I get it?”
“I’ll bring it to you after I take everyone home Sunday evening if that’s all right.”
Brena nodded. “Give Laryn my best. And tell her I expect to see her and her son in the near future.”
Kevin smiled. “Will do. See you Sunday.”
When they reached the island, Theresa asked Kevin if he could pick her up first thing Friday morning.
“Sure, but why? Won’t you be too tired to go to Bridgeport at that point?”
Theresa nodded. “But I don’t want to wait until evening to get to Bridgeport, I want to get there mid-afternoon, before Marcie has to start dinner, so she and I can talk before I go to Bridgeport. If you pick me up that morning, I can sleep a few hours at the castle and then I’ll be good to go.”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up early, before I go to breakfast.”
~~~~
After Kevin dropped Theresa off on the island, he ran by the castle long enough to pick up Nikki, and then joined Rhianna at Doreen’s for their evening walk. The night was warm for late November, so they walked a little farther than usual and then lingered in the front yard. By the time he and Nikki made it back to the castle, it was time for bed.
When he got to his room, Chris was stretched out on the couch. There was one full and one half-full mug of scog sitting on the coffee table. Kevin sat down in one of the chairs and picked up the full mug. “I assume this one’s mine,” he said as he raised the mug to his lips.
Chris chuckled as he sat up. “A little late if it isn’t.”
Kevin drank several swallows and then set it down. “So, anything happen around here?”
Chris shook his head. “It’s been quiet.” Then he took a swallow of his scog. “What did Brena want?”
“Seems there’s a problem in Bridgeport.” Then Kevin told Chris about the letter and everything Theresa had said about Lisal and her obsession with Marcus.
“Sounds like a case of fatal attraction.”
Kevin nodded. “With our Hayley caught smack in the middle.”
“At least she’s got her pendant.”
“There is that, but you know it can’t be comfortable being there, knowing how that woman feels.”
“I wouldn’t blame her if she requested a transfer, or if Marcus insisted on it. I know I would if she were my girl.”
“From what Theresa said, Marcus doesn’t know about anything Lisal’s done since Hayley got there, and Hayley wants to keep it that way.”
Chris frowned. “But is that fair to him?”
Kevin shrugged. “I’d want to know, and I imagine he would to, but it’s not our call. This is between them, and I’m going to respect Hayley’s wishes, at least for now. Theresa’s going up there this weekend to get a feel for how things are going.”
“You know, if this woman is determined to get rid of Hayley, she’ll probably start making up stuff to ruin her reputation in town.”
“Theresa’s going to talk to some of the women and find out what, if anything, is being said. She wants me to drop her off at Marcie’s. If there’s anything going on, Marcie will know, and if she knows anything, Theresa will get it out of h
er.”
“Good. If you need to tell Marcus, she’ll let you know.”
Kevin nodded. “And in the meantime, what he doesn’t know won’t worry him.”
Chapter 31
Back in Bridgeport
Wednesday morning, Marcie was in her kitchen when one of her neighbors, Bryn, dropped by.
“You’re here all by yourself?” Bryn asked, glancing around the empty kitchen. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Lance and Caleb are out on the boat today, and Rayne’s spending the day with Marissa and Parsyn.”
“Good. I want to ask you about something I heard in town yesterday, but I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”
“Sounds serious.” Marcie motioned Bryn to a seat.
“It is. I heard Hayley’s entertaining men after hours in the chapel, and one of them is betrothed to someone else.”
“That’s pure balderdash! The only man Hayley’s seeing is Marcus, and he’s no one’s betrothed!” Marcie took a deep breath. “Unless he’s asked Hayley and no one’s told me.”
Bryn nodded. “That’s what I thought, but it’s all over town and it’s even made it out to some of the farms. I heard it from Brigitte and Shondra both.”
Marcie frowned. “I can see Brigitte. She’s in town and has never heard a piece of gossip she hasn’t repeated, but Shondra surprises me. She only goes to town once a month and rarely says much.”
“I know, but she has two young children and wants a sister she can count on. She said she asked me because she figured I’d know whether or not there was any truth to it.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That there was no way there was any truth to that rumor and that I’d bet money Lisal was behind it.” Bryn shook her head. “I hate this is going around. Wish there was something we could do.”
“Actually, you did the only thing we can do. You told her there was no truth to it.”
“But it doesn’t feel like enough. I remember her that night, standing up to those men, taking care of Gorge, delivering Marissa’s baby, and then, the next morning, she checked on everyone else to make sure we were all right.” Bryn shook her head and then stood up. “Guess I need to get back. I left the girls making a cake. No telling how much mess they’re making.”
The Rambling Spy Page 29
