\u201cI\u2014I\u2019m sorry,\u201d J.T. stammered after a few long moments of silence.\u00a0 They climbed over the frozen hill and across the field toward Matt\u2019s forge.\u00a0 Smoke curled from its chimney, drifting away on the winter wind.<\/p>\n
Phelan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right.\u00a0 When you\u2019ve lived as many lifetimes as I have, it\u2019s almost to be expected.\u00a0 The losses still hurt, but I\u2019m afraid that they no longer surprise me like they used to.\u00a0 Except\u2026there are times when I think that I should tell someone something because it would make them smile, or laugh, or just because they would love to know it and it doesn\u2019t hit me until that moment that they\u2019re gone\u2014sometimes for a very, very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be like that with us someday,\u201d J.T. said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan swallowed against the tightness in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it won\u2019t be.\u00a0 With everything that\u2019s happened to the world, time touches all of us the way it touches you.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled faintly.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll age and die just like the rest of you.\u00a0 High time for it, too, I\u2019m thinking.\u00a0 I\u2019m ready for a normal life.\u201d\u00a0 As if I could ever have something even vaguely close.<\/i><\/p>\n
Another silence stretched between them until they reached the forge, but it was a silence so loud that Phelan could hear all the words that were going unspoken.\u00a0 He knew that Jameson MacKenzie felt sorry for him\u2014not for the first time, likely not for the last.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d Phelan said as he paused just outside the forge.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d J.T. said after a moment\u2019s hesitation.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you two coming in, or are you staying out in the cold?\u201d\u00a0 Thordin asked as he poked his head out into the afternoon chill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re coming in,\u201d Phelan said, then slid past him into the forge.\u00a0 Matt was at the anvil, his brother-in-law at the bellows, the pair working on a broad-headed, double-bladed war axe that looked oddly familiar.\u00a0 He arched a brow, glancing at Thordin.\u00a0 \u201cA new one?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin shrugged slightly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not for me.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d teach our young smith how to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s gaze met Matt\u2019s over the glow of the coals, the glowing red heat of the axehead on the anvil.\u00a0 The younger man met his gaze for only a moment, then looked back to his work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever I need to do to protect my family, Phelan,\u201d Matt said quietly.\u00a0 His hammer rang against the metal.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all any of us would do.\u00a0 I\u2019m not that great with a sword.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom snorted softly.\u00a0 \u201cIf you worked on it a bit more\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of time for it these days,\u201d Matt countered, though he smiled weakly at his brother-in-law.\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t help that my teacher was down for the count in the clutch.\u201d<\/p>\n
J.T. winced.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t sweat it.\u00a0 I\u2019m not very good and I know it.\u00a0 Maybe an axe will suit me better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely will,\u201d Phelan admitted, thinking back to long-ago yesterdays with another man, another friend.\u00a0 \u201cYou won\u2019t know until you\u2019ve tried it on for size, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you made something for your sister yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt froze, blinking and staring at Phelan.\u00a0 \u201cMade something?\u00a0 What are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Midwinter,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cYule.\u00a0 Heart of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
His companions stared at him for a moment as if he\u2019d suddenly grown a second head.\u00a0 Then Thom began to laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it is,\u201d he said, abandoning the bellows.\u00a0 \u201cOf course!\u201d<\/p>\n
As Thom breezed past them out into the cold, Phelan couldn\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n
Now to the messy business of finding a way to get back to the new normal.\u00a0 I think we\u2019ve made a good start of it.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s he going?\u201d\u00a0 Thordin asked, blinking in confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless I miss my guess, he\u2019s gone to conspire with his wife.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s smile brightened.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly<\/i> what we need him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI\u2014I\u2019m sorry,\u201d J.T. stammered after a few long moments of silence.\u00a0 They climbed over the frozen hill and across the field toward Matt\u2019s forge.\u00a0 Smoke curled from its chimney, drifting away on the winter wind. Phelan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s … Continue reading