Legacy (Alliance Book 3) (29 page)

The smoke reached him before he saw the fire. He stopped, listening to the voices of the kids and one new voice, Fuller’s. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he had a feeling they were talking about him and suddenly he needed them to stop, so he broke into a run, snapping branches along the way. All eyes were on him when he got there, but nobody moved to get up. He walked over to the fire and put on the biggest smile he could muster. “I think I may have skipped breakfast. I hope you left me something good.”

They smiled back at him, all but Riley. Drake handed him a heaping plate of food, still hot, and they all went back to their chatter, leaving him be. He walked over to where Riley was sitting with Ams. The girl got up without him needing to ask and went into the flier, the rest of them following her, as if on cue.

“I’m all right, Riley,” he said softly to the kid when they were alone. Riley lifted his face up and stared at him for a long time, putting him on edge with that look, and then shook his head, his too-long hair covering half his face.

“I didn’t ask, Lancer, don’t need to. I wasn’t going to ask either... but you’re not all right. I’d rather you didn’t lie to me again,” and he stood up, turning towards the flier, away from him.

He set his barely touched plate of food on the grass and got up. “You’re right, Riley. It won’t happen again.”

Riley turned and walked back to him and then threw his arms around him, not saying anything for a while, looking at him with those ridiculously old eyes of his. “Don’t you dare lose you, Lancer,” he whispered finally and ran from him, embarrassed.

“I love you too, kid,” he said quietly to his back after a few moments, knowing he couldn’t hear him, but he needed to say it, for himself, so he did, again and again.

-fin-