He pressed his lips together, refusing to argue with me, but also refusing to agree. “It was a dream, Eva. But no matter what happened, you’re safe now.” He stroked my face with the back of his hand. My throat felt heavy and the room started to spin slightly, but I smiled through the haze.
Chapter Twelve
Nickolas stood up suddenly and crossed the room. “I’ll be leaving shortly,” he announced.
Leaving? My smile faded. “We’re going to the colony?” It had stopped raining last night sometime. Of course we would be leaving for the colony.
“
No, not we,” he corrected, “I’ll be leaving.”
“
What?”
“
I have to go check the river to see if it’ll be safe for travel.”
I swallowed past the lump that had grown in my throat. He was angry with me. I had practically forced the poor man to dress me. Nickolas Gant didn’t owe me anything. And now he was going to leave me. I blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry that I…”
He looked at me oddly. “Eva, don’t be ridiculous,” he laughed. “Although the situation was…less than ideal,” he grinned and winked at me, “I hardly blame you. And you were of course right, it was best for me to help you rather than have you sit wrapped in a blanket for the day.”
“
I shouldn’t have forced you to…”
“
You did nothing of the kind.” He raised his hand to stop any more words from me. “Eva,” he came close to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, “I am going to check the river. I’ll be back soon. I should say within the hour.”
“
Ok.” I wasn’t convinced.
“
Now, you must promise not to think any more silly thoughts of my abandoning you.”
“
Ok, “I sniffed back my tears. How easily he knew my feelings, it was as if he could hear my thoughts.
“
You will stay close to the cabin?” I nodded. “There is a storm moving in, it might hit before I get back. If you absolutely must go outside, do so, but don’t venture far.”
Were the wolves close? Was I even safe here? “Will I…?”
“
Although I am convinced of your safety — I wouldn’t be leaving if I thought otherwise — I still would feel better if I knew that you were not out roaming these forests alone.”
“
I won’t go anywhere.” I have nowhere to go, I didn’t add out loud.
“
Eva, when we…” but he stopped his words and changed direction. “Good, at least I won’t have to worry about you then.” He winked.
“
I guess you’ll get a few hours off,” I smiled widely.
“
I told you I’ll be back within an hour,” he reminded me. He pushed my nose with his finger and turned to the door. “Will you see me off?”
“
I’ll be right there.” I stood for a moment after he’d left trying to catch my breath. What would I do if he left me? What if he never came back? I had to go out to see him off before I began hyperventilating. I would just have to deal with the rest later. I puffed out my cheeks and ran after him. Hopefully he hadn’t started walking yet.
I stopped short when I saw the large animal. It was beautiful and intimidating. It was all white with a long hairy tail and long hair along its neck. It picked up one of its skinny legs and stomped it on the ground impatiently.
“
What is that?”
Nickolas looked behind him and around me. “What is what?”
“
That.” I pointed to the obvious.
He looked at me oddly and looked at the creature, then turned back to look at me. “You’ve never seen a horse, Eva?”
“
A horse?” Clearly he expected me to know what this creature was.
“
A horse,” he echoed.
“
Yeah,” I backpedaled, “of course I know what a horse is. I just didn’t recognize it with that thing you have on there.”
“
It’s a saddle.” He looked at me curiously.
I shrugged. “What are you going to do with it?”
“
With the saddle or the horse?” He was teasing now.
“
The horse. What are you going to do with the horse?”
“
I am going to ride it,” he said very slowly.
“
Ride it?” My eyes grew wide.
“
I’m going to ride down to check the river.”
“
Will the rain hold off?” I glanced up at the dark clouds.
“
I won’t be long.”
“
Will you be safe?”
His smile softened. Ever so lightly he pinched my chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I’ll be safe,” he assured me, “and I’ll be back before you can even miss me.”
I looked away quickly so my eyes couldn’t betray me. “Ok,” I mumbled. The corners of my eyes pricked with tears so I kept my face averted.
He pulled my face back to look at him. He was smiling very gently. “Will you be ok here for a little while without me?”
“
Promise you’ll come back?” My tears escaped the confines of my eyes. He groaned softly and gathered me to his chest.
“
Of course I’ll be back,” he whispered into my hair. I sniffed and leaned back so I could see him. He wiped the tears from my face. “You’re so silly,” he said hoarsely.
With his being so close I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to touch his face. It seemed like the most natural thing to do, but before my fingers could make contact he had both my hands in one of his. Disappointment clouded my features.
“
I’ll be right back,” he said with a grin and a wink. He kissed my fingertips lightly and let my hands go.
In one fluid motion he put one foot in the dangling part of the saddle and swung his other leg over the top of the horse. The creature danced wildly for a moment before Nickolas clicked his tongue and pulled on two ropes coming from the horse’s neck.
“
Eva,” he said, turning his attention back to me. I stood staring at him in open mouthed shock. Wasn’t he scared at all? What if he fell? “Eva!”
“
Huh?” My head jerked in response to his voice. He was looking at me curiously again.
“
I don’t know how long this storm will hold off.” He seemed apologetic about leaving me there alone.
The storm. Perplexed, I turned to take stock of the weather. The wind had picked up considerably. The black clouds hung over us threateningly. What a contrast to the beautiful morning, I frowned. The weather could be dangerous soon and here he was wasting time to comfort me.
“
Alright,” I said quickly, “go if you must. Just hurry.” I took two steps back.
“
You just stay close to the cabin. If it starts raining, go inside!”
I felt like I should salute to him, but I didn’t know if that would be appropriate. Something was different about me and Nickolas and until I figured out what it was I had to really be careful. “Don’t worry about me,” I said instead, “you worry about not falling off that horse.” He laughed and shook his head before the horse turned around and dashed out of sight.
I brought my hand up to cover my mouth. “Please come back to me,” I whispered desperately. He was too far away to hear me. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply.
The sky rumbled darkly. I hoped that the rain would hold off until Nickolas came back, if Nickolas came back. I was slightly surprised to realize how much I missed him already. Lightening flashed, making the darkened world suddenly bright.
Moments later, I felt the first drops of rain. It was cold and seemed to slice right through my skin. Surely Nickolas would just come back and wait out the rain. I watched the trees expectantly but he did not appear. More drops followed the first and I was forced to go back inside and watch from the tiny window.
The downpour didn’t last long, just long enough to get everything soaking wet. My spirits were already low and now they were even lower. As soon as the rain stopped I went outside and sat on the front porch to wait for Nickolas.
I sat there waiting while the sun climbed higher into the sky. Often times the sun wasn’t visible through the clouds and I was chased inside by the rain several more times. But mostly I just sat, growing more anxious as time passed.
It was far into the afternoon when the clouds finally cleared. The sun, free of its dark guardian, shone down brilliantly. I couldn’t enjoy it though, Nickolas had not returned. I guess I knew that he wouldn’t but that had not stopped me from hoping.
He had told me within the hour, that time had long gone by. I cradled my head in my lap. I didn’t cry though, I hadn’t cried since he left. I felt a sharp pang of loss, but I wasn’t really surprised that he had left me here. I couldn’t blame him. Maybe he had someone else, a girlfriend — perhaps. I wanted to discard the notion, but it was certainly a possibility.
My head was still buried in my lap when I heard his voice. “Eva? Eva, where are you?” I heard him call.
I got up off the porch so fast that I tripped on the long dress. I landed on my hands and knees with a grunt. “Oph!”
“
Hey,” I looked up and met his warm brown eyes, “What are you doing on the ground?” He smiled gently.
“
I was…I was waiting…for you.” I choked out.
“
Have you been on the ground long then?” He winked.
I smiled widely and let him help me to my feet. He held my hand in his and kissed my fingertips. “I…fell.”
He chuckled. “Clearly.” He glanced down at the palm of my hand which had a small cut in the center. “Does it hurt badly?”
“
No.” I couldn’t stop staring at his face. He came back! My heart rejoiced. Without giving him time to react I flung my arms around his neck and pressed my body close to his. I couldn’t seem to get close enough to him. “You came back,” I whispered. Tears streamed down my face.
I heard him sigh before he pushed me away enough to talk to me. He kept a hold of my hands. “Of course I came back. I told you I would. Did you not trust me?”
“
Yes, but it has been so much longer than an hour.” My bottom lip began to quiver. I was just so relieved to see him.
He pulled me back close to him and let me keep my head against his chest. “I am sorry that I ran late my dear, I realize now the error of my ways. I knew you were well and safe but you did not know if I was. I should have come back and told you. Will you forgive me?”
I laughed softly through my tears. “I suppose I could try.”
“
I am sorry I made you worry.”
“
What took you so long? Were the rivers bad?”
He was silent for so long that I thought he must have decided not to answer. “There was a wolf attack nearby,” he said at last.
“
A what?” I pushed myself out of his embrace. “Are you hurt?” I began inspecting him, but he stopped my hands.
“
Eva, of course I am ok. Do you remember that older couple I was telling you about?”
“
Yes,” I nodded.
“
They were attacked last night. Both of them were killed.”
My face blanched white with shock. Nickolas was out last night. What if he had run into the wolf? What if…?
“
I just can’t understand it,” Nickolas’s voice cut into my frantic thoughts.
“
The attack?” I asked stupidly.
“
Yes. The wolves have been here for years. Never before has there been such an unprovoked attack. This was an elderly couple with no children. What could have been the reason for killing them?”
I stared at him blankly. I hoped he wouldn’t expect an answer from me. Men that turned to wolves? If it was real, then why wouldn’t they kill just to kill? Why else would they kill? Why had they attacked me and my angel? That is, if that was what had happened.
“
Why don’t you go inside,” Nickolas said suddenly. I looked up at him to see if he was angry. It didn’t appear so.
“
Are you coming?”
“
I’ll be there in a moment. I have to tend to the horse first.” I nodded and started towards the house.
Chapter Thirteen
What in the world was he doing? I watched him through the small window as the sun was setting in the sky. He looked magnificent, like something from a dream. He ran his hands magically over the flanks of his horse. The last rays of the sun washed over his tanned skin. It was as if I were mesmerized, I couldn’t look away.
“
Hmm,” I sighed lightly.
Then he turned my way. I gasped and dropped to all fours, below the window. I was so embarrassed that he had caught me staring. I stayed crouched on the floor, wondering if he was still looking.
Just when I had gathered enough courage to peek out the window I heard the door open. “Oh.” I crawled as fast as I could across the room.
“
Please don’t let him see me, please don’t let him see me,” I silently pleaded.
“
Eva?” I cringed. “Eva?”
“
Yeah?” I tried to sound innocent.
“
Why are you crawling around on the floor?” I peeked under my arm and saw his feet by the doorway. I grimaced. In a swift motion he was on the floor next to me; worried that I might be hurt. “Are you ok? Are you hurt?”