“Blair’s got all of you at the house.”
Rhianna shook her head. “She talks a little to Nan, but she avoids me and Doreen. And Neisha’s so wrapped up in Shelley she doesn’t notice anyone else.” Rhianna paused. “Blair tries to fade into the background whenever she can, which is most of the time. She won’t even eat with us. She cooks, disappears until we’re done, and comes back to clean up. I’ve tried to get her to join in when we do stuff, but I haven’t been able to so far. The only one who seemed to have any luck along that line was Theresa, and now she’s gone.”
Kevin didn’t say anything, mainly because he didn’t have any suggestions.
When they got back to the house, Rhianna asked, “Shall I invite you in? Or do you need to go?”
“I need to make a quick trip Elsewhere before I turn in so I guess we better go. See you tomorrow.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Marcus was waiting for his sister and her family in Kevin’s office when they got there Saturday morning. After they recovered from their trip through the energy field, Marcie turned to her brother and asked, “Is that what you and Hayley go through every time you visit us?”
Marcus shook his head. “It’s only bad the first couple of times. After that you don’t even notice it. Come on and I’ll show you to the rooms Cryslyn prepared for you.” As he picked up their bags, he thanked Kevin for bringing them down. “We’ll meet you in here shortly after lunch tomorrow.”
Kevin nodded as he turned to Marcie and Lance. “I’m glad you decided to visit. Let us know if there’s anything you need.”
Marcie thanked him as she and her family followed Marcus out of the office.
Before long, they were unpacked and ready to go. On their way to the stable, Marcus stopped by the kitchen to pick up the basket he’d asked Miranda to prepare. He’d already put blankets, a tea pot, and other picnic essentials in the wagon. All that was left was to hitch up the horses. By mid-morning, they were exploring the countryside.
Hayley met them for lunch, and while the others cleaned up, Marcie asked her to go for a walk with her. “There’s something I want to talk to you about without little ears, or big ones for that matter, listening to every word.”
Hayley laughed and followed Marcie down the road. For a while Marcie caught Hayley up to date on the happenings in the settlement and in Bridgeport. After they were well away from the others, Marcie said, “Thom’s father, Morris, asked me to talk to you.”
“Morris?” Hayley asked. “Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. It’s nothing like that. You know he’s the town director, don’t you?”
Hayley nodded.
“He wants to write Sister Brena and request you as the resident sister of Bridgeport, but he doesn’t want to do it unless it’s all right with you.”
Hayley stopped walking and turned towards Marcie. “What are you talking about? There’s no chapel in Bridgeport.”
“Not yet, but there will be soon.”
“And they want me?”
Marcie nodded. “We all do. No one realized how nice it is to have a local sister who knows us and knows our children until you started taking care of us. We’d like for you to be our sister, but only if you want to. We don’t want to cause you any problems. If you want to stay here, Morris will ask Sister Brena to send us a sister and let it go at that, but if you’d like to come up there to live, we’d love to have you.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Hayley turned back to the road and started walking again. “I never dreamed I’d have my own chapel, but at the same time, I already feel like all of you are my patients. But Theresa just left. I don’t know how Sister Agnes would feel if I left, too. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, you don’t have to decide right now. We can give you some time to think about it.”
“When do I need to let you know something?”
“There’s no big rush. When are you planning to come visit again?”
“Probably next weekend.”
“Why don’t you think about it, talk to Sister Agnes and anyone else you need to, and let us know something then.”
“Wow. My own chapel. This is enormous. I don’t know what to say or what to do.”
Marcie laughed and put her arm around Hayley as they turned to walk back.
After a few minutes, Hayley asked, “Do they know what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“You mean Rayne and Caleb?”
Hayley nodded.
Marcie shook her head. “I haven’t mentioned anything to them. I didn’t want them begging you to accept it, and they would. Lance knows though.”
“What about Marcus?”
Again, Marcie shook her head. “I didn’t think it was my place. That one’s up to you.”
Hayley paused. “I’ll tell him, but not yet. I need to think about it first.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Sunday afternoon, after Marcie and her family had gone back home, Marcus went to the chapel in search of Hayley. He found her in the kitchen fixing some tea.
“Hi,” he said as he sat down at the table. “Are you going to be long?”
Hayley shook her head. “No. I’m about done. Why?”
“I thought we might go for a walk.”
“All right.” Hayley finished pouring the tea into a container. “Let me check with Sister Agnes and see if she needs anything.”
Ten minutes later, when they were outside and headed away from the chapel, Marcus asked, “Is something wrong?”
“What makes you ask that?”
“Ever since you and Marcie went for that walk yesterday you’ve been miles away.”
Hayley sighed but didn’t answer immediately. “I wasn’t ready to talk to you about this yet.”
Marcus felt a chill hit him. “About what?”
“Morris wants to ask Sister Brena to assign me to the chapel in Bridgeport.”
“But they don’t have a chapel.”
“According to Marcie, they will soon.”
“Why?”
“From what she said, they’ve gotten used to having me around and they like it. They’ve decided they want a sister on a permanent basis, one who lives there. And they want me.”
“That’s the only part about this that doesn’t surprise me.” Marcus raked his hand through his hair. “How do you feel about it?”
“I’m not sure,” Hayley said slowly. “There’s so much to consider. For one thing, I don’t know about leaving Sister Agnes. Now that Theresa’s gone, I’m all she has left.”
“Well, wasn’t she the only sister here before Theresa came? And there have been a lot of times when you and Theresa were both gone. She handled things on her own then.”
“I know, but she’s getting older, and I hate to walk out on her.” Hayley walked on for a moment. “And then there’s you.”
“What about me?”
“I don’t want to leave you either, and you live here.”
“For now.”
“What does that mean?”
“I never intended for this job to be permanent. Eventually I’ll go back home.”
“Seriously? You’ve been planning to move back to Bridgeport all along?”
Marcus wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he’d just stepped into quicksand. “Well, yeah, someday.”
“And when were you planning to mention that to me?”
“When I decided to go,” Marcus said slowly.
Hayley shook her head and muttered, “Men! Were you planning to take me with you?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Marcus admitted.
“I think it’s pretty easy. It’s a yes or no question.”
“No it isn’t. It’s way more complicated than that. For one thing, you’re a sister now. I figured the day would come when you’d be offered a chapel and you’d have to leave. Were you planning for me to go with you when you left?”
Hayley scrunched up her face. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t
know what to do now!”
“Let’s look at a few facts. One, if you take on a chapel, you’ll be really busy, especially the first couple of years until you get things organized and get to know everyone in the area. If I’m with you, I’ll be in the way.”
Hayley shook her head. “You wouldn’t be in the way.”
“Yes, I would, and before long you’d start feeling guilty because you couldn’t spend time with me, and that would make you mad, and guess who you’d get mad at? Me.”
“I would not.”
“You would so. You got mad at me for getting shot and making your power show up.”
“I...I...How did you know that?”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Believe me, it was obvious. Everyone knew. Theresa told me not to take it personally, that you were just confused.”
“Well, I was confused. I had my life all planned out and then that happened and turned everything upside down.”
“And if it hadn’t shown up, you wouldn’t have to make this decision, but it’s not my fault. So don’t get mad at me about it.”
“I’m not mad at you. I just don’t know what to do. My life would have been a lot simpler if my power had never shown up.”
“Maybe, maybe not. If your power hadn’t shown up, you wouldn’t be here. You’d be off with Theresa wherever she is, and from what I’ve heard, she won’t be back for years.”
Hayley walked in silence for a few minutes. “I hadn’t thought about that. And you’re right, she said she won’t be back for at least five years, maybe more.” Hayley shivered. “That would be horrible. I wouldn’t be able to see you or talk to you for years. You’d forget all about me.”
Marcus shook his head. “I wouldn’t forget you, and I won’t forget you if you go to Bridgeport. And besides, if you’re up there, it’ll give me one more reason to visit.”
Hayley sighed. “But none of that helps me figure out what to do. I don’t know what to tell them.”
Marcus turned towards Hayley. He put his hands on her shoulders and waited until her eyes met his. “Hayley, don’t think about Sister Agnes. Don’t think about me. Think about you and what you want. They’re offering you your own chapel in a place where you already know the people. Do you want it?”
Hayley took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
“Then tell them yes.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Over the past week, Callie had convinced the men on the island to build a three-room building similar to the one they had in Nandelia. It had a large kitchen, a dining room, and a third room that could be used as a meeting room, storage room, or play room for the children. Friday night, at Callie’s suggestion, Kevin had taken several extra mattresses to the island and set them out in the extra room so the children could nap while their parents got the caves set up.
Shortly after dinner Sunday evening, Kevin went to Nandelia to start transporting the women, children, and their belongings to the island. Since Garen’s wife, Gilean, had everything sorted by family and ready to go, things were easier than Kevin had anticipated. Before he started on the belongings, he took the other women and all the children to the island and handed them over to Theresa and Taelor, who were set up with cool cloths, water, and pallets.
Darwyn had cleared a centrally located area for Kevin to bring in all of the belongings. When he got back to Nandelia, Gilean showed him which stack went with which family, so as soon as Kevin arrived with a load, Darwyn moved it to the cave that family would live in.
After Kevin delivered the last load, he and Gilean went through all the buildings to make sure nothing had been forgotten. Then he took her out to the island. When he handed her over to Garen, he told both of them how much he appreciated everything she’d done and how much easier the move had been because she’d had everything so well organized.
Before he did anything else, Kevin made a quick trip back to Nandelia to pick Sean up and take him to Brendolanth. Kevin took him to a wooded area five miles outside of Trendon and wished him luck finding the woman he was looking for. “What are your plans if you find her?”
“If she’s single, I want to marry her, but with or without her, I can’t stay in Trendon. Most of the people here know me, and know I’m assigned to Garen’s squad. If Rolan gets his hands on me, I’m a dead man. And if he finds out we’re married, she’ll have a target on her back, too.”
“Well, if you decide to leave Brendolanth, you’re welcome to come back to Milhaven. Or you could join the ones who stayed in Nandelia.”
Sean nodded. “I’d like to join Garen at some point, but I’m not sure that’ll be possible.”
Kevin shrugged. “I’m not either.” Then he took out his key, said, “Take care,” and went back to the island.
When he returned, all the furniture, bags, and boxes had been moved, and the unpacking had begun. The women were tired and the children were nodding off every time they sat down. To them, it was late, after midnight. The men on the other hand felt like it was the middle of the day and were ready for lunch.
Callie had prepared two pots of stew, a hearty one for the men and a light broth for the women and children. After everyone finished eating, Theresa and Taelor offered to keep an eye on the children so the women could help the men get the caves set up. As soon as the adults went off to work on their individual caves, Kevin quietly left for home.
~ ~ ~ ~
Monday morning, shortly after breakfast, Hayley asked Sister Agnes if she could speak with her. When they reached Sister Agnes’s office, Hayley shut the door and sat down.
As Hayley started twisting her hands, Sister Agnes asked, “Hayley, what’s bothering you?
“I don’t know how to start.”
“I’ve found that the beginning is usually a good place.”
Hayley’s smile was weak as she looked up at Agnes. “You know I’ve been going to Bridgeport a lot lately.”
Sister Agnes nodded. “If I remember correctly, that’s where Marcus is from.”
“It is. When I go up there, I stay with his sister and her family.”
“I know, and you were there when the slavers raided.”
Hayley closed her eyes for a moment and then said, “That was some night. Marcus disappearing, delivering a baby...”
Sister Agnes smiled. “You took charge and did a good job from everything I heard.”
Hayley frowned, so Sister Agnes explained. “Sister Theresa filled me in.”
Hayley nodded and took a deep breath. “And I’ve been taking care of the people up there ever since.”
Again, Sister Agnes nodded. “I know.”
“Well, the thing is... you know Marcie and her family came down this past weekend.”
Once more, Sister Agnes nodded.
“And, well, she said they’re building a chapel up there, in Bridgeport, and Morris asked her to ask me how I felt about him writing to Sister Brena and requesting that I be assigned there.”
Sister Agnes’s smile lit up her eyes. “Hayley, that’s wonderful. When do you leave?”
Hayley looked at Sister Agnes. “You’re not upset?”
“Why would I be upset?”
“Theresa’s gone, and if I leave, you’ll be on your own. You won’t have any help.”
“Nonsense. I’ve got Leira. She could run this chapel by herself, and Duri’s coming along nicely. She can handle the herb garden and prepare herbs without supervision now. And Mishi might not know much yet, but she’s a hard worker. And we still have Sherri, although that’s an idea. Why don’t you take Sherri with you? She’s only here until we find another chapel for her to train in, and since you’ll be starting a chapel up there, you could use the help. That’s an excellent idea. How do you feel about taking her with you? You can teach her how you want things done. She’s willing to do anything we ask. And she wants to learn. Yes, that’s a perfect solution to several problems.”
Hayley’s mouth had dropped open halfway throu
gh Sister Agnes’s comments. “You don’t mind if I go? You won’t feel like I’m deserting you?”
Sister Agnes smiled. “That’s sweet of you, to worry about me, but this is your time. You should be excited, thrilled. We’ll be fine. This is what every sister longs for, her own chapel. And now you and Theresa both have your own chapels. This is a cause for celebration. I’ll ask Blair to make a special cake. Are you going to tell Sherri? Or do you want me to?”
Hayley quickly shook her head. “Don’t say anything yet. I haven’t told them I want it.”
Sister Agnes frowned. “Don’t you like it up there? I was under the impression you liked those folks. Don’t you want to be their sister?”
“Of course I do, but I told Marcie I needed to think about it, talk to you, talk to Marcus. It’s a big decision.”
“Marcus, of course,” Sister Agnes said softly. “I have to admit I got carried away with the idea of your own chapel and didn’t even think about that. Have you talked to him yet?”
Hayley nodded.
“What did he say?”
“He said I should do it.”
“Good,” Sister Agnes said. “I knew I liked him. And he’s right. It’s not like you won’t ever see him again.”
“I know, but it won’t be the same.”
“No, it won’t, nothing ever is. Change is a part of life, but I can tell you this. If you give this up for him, every time you go up there, you’ll regret turning it down, and before long, you’ll blame him for it.”
Hayley took a deep breath. “So you think I should tell Morris to go ahead and write Sister Brena?”
“Absolutely, and you might want to have a word or two with Morris to be sure he’s building the chapel the way you want it built. Men don’t always know what works.”
“That’s a good idea. I’m going up there Saturday. I’ll talk to him then.”
The Warrior Elf Page 61
