Champion

by Marie Higgins

  “When I give the signal, I want you to open your eyes and look our way. Tell me which one you believe is Mary wearing this cloak.”

  Payton tried not to laugh, so she nibbled on her lip to make sure she didn’t insult him by voicing her thoughts of his ridiculous idea. “All right.”

  Shuffling of feet was heard again, and then came silence.

  “Now open your eyes.”

  She opened her eyes and both Mary and Archer wore a hooded cloak. They stood on the other side of the table, so she couldn’t see their legs. All she could see were the long cloaks that hid their identities. Archer was a slender man, although his arms, legs, and chest were very muscular, but as she studied their backs, she really couldn’t see his muscular frame outlined in the cloaks. She knew he had wide shoulders, but comparing the two now, she only noticed a slight difference in the shape of the shoulders. However, the one with wider shoulders stood on Payton’s left. For sure, that was Archer.

  “Archer, you are standing closer to the glass door, and Mary is standing closer to the hallway.”

  The figure by the glass door turned. Mary’s humorous expression met Payton’s.

  Mary shook her head. “You’re wrong. I’m not Archer.”

  Payton gasped and jumped to her feet just as Archer turned. He had been standing with his shoulders drooped, and Mary had stood with her shoulders pulled back.

  “I...can’t believe it.” Excitement shot through Payton. “Mary, I really thought you were Archer.

  As long as Mary wears this cloak,” he said as he walked back around the table to stand by Payton, “I will be able to make Phillip believe I’m Mary if we have to trade places.

  You know, I think this just might work.” Payton nodded.

  “I’m beginning to believe it, too.” Mary’s voice held a touch of excitement as a twinkle danced in her eyes.

  “However,” Payton continued, “Phillip is going to try to undermine us at every turn. Mary, we need to write up a contract and have our lawyer look it over to make sure there are no loopholes that your ex can jump through.

  I agree.” Mary gave her a sharp nod. She turned to Archer and grasped his hand. “You have instilled hope in me once again. With your help, Payton and I will finally be able to get rid of that man.

  I shall do all I can to make it happen.” He winked at her before turning his focus to Payton. “Would you come with me back to the park so that I can plan where everything can take place?

  Yes. I would love that.” Enthusiasm grew inside of her, knowing she’d get to spend more time with him alone. But then reality came back to her, reminding her of her job. Sighing in sorrow, she frowned. “Actually, I can’t yet. I have to finish editing the photos.

  Nonsense.” Mary waved her hand in the air. “I can do that. You two go to the park. Right now, the most important thing is that contest. I don’t want anything to ruin it.”

  Archer picked up his empty plate and took it to the sink. “I am ready anytime you are.”

  Payton hadn’t eaten all of her breakfast, but she wasn’t hungry anymore. She, too, wanted to put this contest behind her...as long as they won, of course. Yet, with Archer on their side, how could they not? After all, he was Robin Hood, and Robin Hood always came out on top.

  She emptied the food on her plate into the garbage before setting the dishes in the sink. “Let me slip my shoes on and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Five minutes later, she and Archer walked out of the house. Before they reached the end of the driveway, he slipped his hand into hers. Happiness warmed her bosom as she glanced into his caring gaze. His smile let her know he had the same type of feelings as she. At least that’s what she suspected was the emotion glimmering in his deep blue eyes.

  “I hope holding your hand is permissible. I witnessed others doing this yesterday while we were in the park.”

  Laughing, she cuddled against his arm. “Yes, this is very permissible.

  You are an amazing woman, Payton Fox.”

  Her cheeks heated from his compliment. “Why do you think so?

  You care so much about other people, and you are willing to do anything to help them.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not the only one. You do that, too.

  I do?

  Of course.

  When?

  Well...” She searched through her mind to recall a story about Robin Hood. “Why did you join the Turk War? Wasn’t it to help King Richard?”

  His steps slowed as his gaze latched onto hers. “Indeed, it was.

  And when you returned, you said you worked for the sheriff, and yet wasn’t it because you had wanted to help the townsfolks—the poor townsfolks?

  Aye.

  There you go,” she said cheerfully. “You willingly help those who are unable to do it themselves. You, my dear Archer, have a very kind and loving heart.”

  His mouth turned back into a grin as he continued to lead them toward the park. “Tell me, Payton, was this man called Robin Hood like that?

  Well...” she hesitated, only because she knew he really didn’t believe he was this man. “Robin Hood’s motto was stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Didn’t you read the book I gave you the other day?”

  He threw back his head and laughed. She loved hearing the deep timbre of his voice. She especially enjoyed the way warm shivers moved up and down her arms. Lately, she has been looking forward to the way her body reacted around him.

  “Aye, I did read the book, and I suppose I am this Robin Hood, because I, too, believe in helping the poor, even if it means stealing from the rich.”

  Payton’s heart lightened and she squeezed his hand. “If you are not Robin Hood, then you are very similar to him. But really, from all the pictures I’ve seen of this fictitious man, I think I like you much better.”

  His smile was wide as they walked a little farther in silence. Would she ever get tired of staring at him as if she had conjured up an imaginary hero who was here just for her? All she knew was that if he really was a dream, she would be one miserable woman when she awoke to find him out of her life.

  Please, she wished silently, stay in my life forever and ever.

  TEN

  Phillip drove his fancy red Jaguar up to the house and stopped. He gazed upon the place he and Mary had once called home as anger filled his mind. It irritated him beyond words how much she and Payton had fixed up the house. If it had looked this good when he divorced Mary, he would have made certain he had stayed in the house. But before, and especially during the divorce, the place wasn’t worth keeping.

  He’d been living in a nice townhouse since they had split, but as he studied the red brick, three story structure fenced with wooden slabs, he seethed with rage. There were so many things he could do with a place like this. He would turn one of the rooms into his office. Another room would be the weight room. In fact, he’d probably need two of them. Either that or he could make the whole basement a weight room and charge his friends a fee to come use his home gym. He would also be able to have a room where he and his friends could shoot pool and darts. And of course, outside he’d have a swimming pool and hot tub. He’d charge his friends to use those as well.

  Was she trying to hide something from him? What did she and Archer know that they didn’t want Phillip to know? Well, he’d find out soon.

  He killed the engine and climbed out. Although he really didn’t want to talk to Mary, he needed to see what he was up against in the forthcoming contest.

  After rapping his knuckles on the screen door, he waited impatiently, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. It irritated him to think Mary had changed the locks. This was partly his house, too. He should be entitled to a set of keys regardless of the divorce.

  When the door finally opened, Mary stood in front of him with her hand covering the door knob. Her eyes widened, but within seconds, lines appeared around her mouth and her expression changed into a scowl.

  “What are you doing here?” she snapped.


  He lifted his chin haughtily. “I thought we needed to talk.

  About what?

  About our contest. You know, the one Archer created in regards to winning the house.”

  She released a heavy sigh as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door. “What’s there to talk about? You agreed to the contest, right?

  Of course.” Chuckling, he shook his head. “But I’m wondering why you would agree to something like that, when it’s clear who will win.”

  She nodded. “Precisely. Archer is going to win for me.”

  Phillip rolled his eyes. “You have been blinded by Archer’s confidence, dear Mary, because it is I who will win and take over this house.

  If you say so.”

  He studied her face and didn’t like how he couldn’t see even a flicker of panic. Did she know something he didn’t? Impossible! There was no way she could beat him. He grumbled. “I’m surprised you can’t see what I do.

  What exactly am I supposed to see?” She cocked her head, keeping her narrowed gaze on him. “Because all I can see right now is that you are afraid I’m going to win the house. Why else would you be here trying to talk me out of this contest?”

  He huffed and shifted again. “I’m actually trying to save you the embarrassment of losing.”

  Slowly, the corners of her mouth lifted. “It sounds to me like you are the one who wants to save himself from becoming embarrassed.

  Mary, seriously now...how many times have you known me to ever lose?

  A few times, in fact. Not to mention, you did lose that contest you had with Archer at the Renaissance Fair. Am I correct?

  Well, that’s a mistake I won’t allow to happen again. I’ll be prepared this time.” He fisted his hands by his sides.

  She shrugged. “Fine, then.”

  Inwardly, he growled. What was wrong with her? Why did she even think she had a chance going up against him? He recalled when they first started taking bow lessons how she’d struggled to learn. Yet now, she acted as if going up against him wasn’t a problem. Then again, she was expecting Archer to do everything. Phillip had different plans.

  He scratched his chin. “Have you been taking classes since our divorce?

  I’ve been practicing when I have time, and Archer is going to give me some extensive training in the next few days, just in case I need it.”

  She was lying, he just knew it. He snorted a laugh. “Fine.” He flipped his hand in the air. “If you want to be cocky about this, I’ll let you. I was just trying to save you from the blowing crush you’ll receive when I win and you will have to look for another place to live. Of course, I’ll be nice and give you a month to move out.”

  Silence stretched between them for a few awkward moments. Her attention stayed on his face as if she were looking for something out of place. She wouldn’t find what she was searching for, because he had nothing to be worried about. However, it made him flustered when she didn’t show any signs of backing down. This wasn’t like the Mary he’d married, and he for sure didn’t like the way she acted. Mainly because he couldn’t control her.

  “Do you know what I find strange?” she finally asked.

  He crinkled his brow. “What?

  I’m wondering what you are really doing here. The Phillip I knew wouldn’t care to warn me about anything. He wouldn’t care that I might get embarrassed over something, just as long as he came out on top and was recognized for his achievements.” She tapped her finger on her cheek. “So now I’m wondering why you really came. It’s obvious you want this house, so why then would you want me to back down from the contest if you believe you’ll win?”

  Phillip gritted his teeth and fisted his hands again. How dare she say such things to him and challenge his purpose in coming? And it irked him that she knew him so well. He definitely couldn’t let her know he was here just to get some answers.

  Slowly, he released an agitated sigh. “Well, apparently you have changed since our divorce, but you don’t think I have.” He gave a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t care if you don’t believe I’m a different person, too. At least I know I have done all I can do to help you.”

  He marched away from the house and toward his car. Steam simmered under his collar, and he was ready to scream. Just like when they were married, she made him want to shake her senseless. He hated when she was like this—which wasn’t very often. But now, her attitude made him want to prove her wrong. He couldn’t wait to show her who was the better person.

  He climbed in his car and slammed the door, then pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket. He quickly dialed a number and waited.

  “Hey, Calvin here,” came the voice on the other end. “I’m busy and can’t answer the phone, so leave me a message.” Beep.

  “It’s me,” he snapped. “Archer is up to something, and I want to know what it is now! He’s got something planned for the contest, and I’ll pay big bucks to find out what it is, now! Get me the information tomorrow...or you’ll be sorry. That man must be stopped!”

  PAYTON RECLINED ON her lawn chair in the backyard as Archer showed Mary some tricks in using the bow. He’d been demonstrating different ways to shoot the arrow for almost two hours now, and Payton hadn’t tired of watching him. Mary seemed quite enthralled as well, and she caught on to his lessons quickly.

  Payton had her laptop and planned to work on editing photos this morning, but the bow lessons looked more interesting. Or was it the way he moved around Mary with such ease, helping her stand correctly, and how to point the arrow at the target? Obviously, he was a born teacher.

  She chuckled to herself. Was it any wonder Robin Hood taught his band of men how to fight and steal from the rich and give to the poor so successfully? Was it any wonder he’d become a legend? Perhaps that was the very reason she allowed her heart to melt every time she thought of him.

  When he turned his head and caught her gazing at him, she quickly dropped her attention to the laptop. Heat scalded her cheeks. She shouldn’t be embarrassed, but she was. Not often did she find herself tongue tied around such a handsome and charming man—one that looked upon her with the same longing in his stare.

  While her focus was now on her laptop, she decided to at least try to appear as if she was working on editing some of the photos from their shoot the other day. Yet, as she glanced over all of them together, her attention fell to the ones she’d taken of Archer. He was certainly made for the camera. Some of the pictures his expression was so intense that it made her breathing grow ragged. She could definitely bring in some big sales with his photo...if he allowed her to sell them to the publishers, anyway.

  As always since she met Archer, her attention span didn’t stay on the photos very long, and she found herself searching online. The internet had always distracted her, yet she didn’t know how to keep focused. She typed Robin Hood into the search engine just as she’d done yesterday, but when the page came up there were no results.

  How strange...

  She scratched her head and looked back at the way she typed the name. It was correct. So why then did nothing come up? Yet yesterday, there were only a few results on the page unlike when she’d first searched for him.

  She refreshed the page and ran another search for Sheriff of Nottingham. A few results popped up on the screen, but still not as many as there had been the other day. As she searched through the few articles, nowhere was there mention of Robin Hood. It was as though he had never existed...

  Her mind came to a halt along with her fingers. How could Robin Hood not exist? He was one of her favorite fairy tale heroes, and many movies had been made about him. So why were there not any articles about him?

  An idea sprang to her mind and she quickly typed in the actor’s name who had once played Robin Hood. For sure the movie would be listed under his credits. Yet when she searched through the list of movies he’d been in, there was nothing about Robin Hood or Sherwood Forest.

  Shaking her head, she refused to believe it. Panic gre
w inside of her belly, starting out small like a seed, but festering and growing the longer she pondered the missing hero.

  Payton recalled chatting with Archer on the first day. He’d mentioned not knowing Little John or Will Scarlet, or even Maid Marion. At the time, she figured he just hadn’t met them yet, since it hadn’t been very long since he’d returned from the Holy Land fighting in the Crusades. But now...now she wondered if pulling him out of his time before he’d met those other people had somehow altered history.

  She chuckled and relaxed back in her comfortable lawn chair. How could she alter history when Robin Hood was nothing but a fictional character? However, she had read an article that stated his character had been taken from a real person.

  Could she have possibly made the Robin Hood stories disappear just because she’d wished Archer to come forward in her time? Gasping, she straightened in her chair as her feet dropped to the ground. The laptop tilted and threatened to fall, but she quickly righted it on her legs. Impossible! How could she have done something that grand? No, there had to be another explanation for all of this.

  “Hey, Pay. What are you doing?”

  The man’s voice next to her startled her out of her thoughts and she jumped. She swung her head toward the presence kneeling next to her chair that she hadn’t noticed before now. After the initial shock of seeing Calvin, she grumbled inwardly. He was not the person she wanted to talk with right now.

  She tried to relax back in her chair. “I’m trying to edit some photos from the shoot.” She studied his jovial expression for a few seconds before scowling. “What are you doing here? You usually don’t stay at the house unless there is a shoot scheduled.”

  He shrugged. “I hadn’t anything else to do. I don’t have to be in New York for a couple more days, so I needed some place to kill time.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “And you want to do it here?

  Is there a problem with that?” he clipped. His cheerful expression waned for a brief moment. “I’ve always been welcome before.” His gaze left hers to move across the yard and rest on Archer and Mary. “I swear, Pay, ever since that new man has come into your life, you’ve been very rude toward me.”