Thom sucked in a quiet breath and forced a smile.\u00a0 \u201cWell.\u00a0 Guess I\u2019d better round up the rest and get to hunting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHunting what?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s voice asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhelan.\u201d\u00a0 Thom grinned as he turned.\u00a0 \u201cJust the man I was looking for.\u00a0 And you\u2019ve brought Thordin along, too.\u00a0 Excellent.\u00a0 We\u2019re going hunting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan\u2019s brows knit even as Thom\u2019s view of him was momentarily eclipsed by Marin, who came to him and slid her arms around Thom\u2019s waist.\u00a0 He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d he murmured quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely nothing,\u201d she lied, resting her forehead against his cheek.\u00a0 \u201cNothing that can\u2019t wait until later to talk about, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
His stomach gave an uncomfortable somersault, but he nodded anyway and glanced at Phelan.\u00a0 \u201cDeer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeer,\u201d Phelan echoed, expression deadpan.\u00a0 \u201cWhy are we hunting deer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you want me to cook some kind of feast every night for the next five nights,\u201d Tala said from behind Thom.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I need meat for that.\u00a0 Venison will do the trick nicely and I\u2019m more<\/i> than sure at least one of you boys knows how to tan a hide, too.\u201d\u00a0 She grinned over her shoulder at them before she turned back toward the fire.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure we can use that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan made a face, glancing at Thom.\u00a0 \u201cYou haven\u2019t forgotten that I almost died<\/i> this morning, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not,\u201d Thom said, ignoring the sick feeling twisting in his stomach.\u00a0 \u201cBut you\u2019re still alive and probably not about to drop dead in the next few hours, so we\u2019re going to take advantage of that fact and go bring down a deer or two for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMake it three if you can,\u201d Tala said, still grinning.\u00a0 \u201cI can salt some of it and smoke some of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree deer,\u201d Thordin said, boggling at her.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve got a great deal of faith in us, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou guys haven\u2019t let me down yet.\u201d\u00a0 She looked toward Marin.\u00a0 \u201cYou want to go with them, or are you going to stay here with me and help me bake crap?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marin\u2019s arms tightened around Thom for a moment and he let himself hope that she\u2019d come along for just those few heartbeats until her arms loosened and she stepped away.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinking I should stay and help you bake,\u201d she said, a note of reluctance in her voice.\u00a0 \u201cIf I go out with them, I\u2019d just get in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bullshit.\u00a0 You\u2019re better with a bow than I am, that\u2019s for sure.<\/i>\u00a0 Thom glanced toward Thordin and Phelan and shook his head slightly.\u00a0 Phelan smild weakly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s necessarily true, leann\u00e1n<\/i>, but if you don\u2019t want to tag along, I\u2019m not going to argue and neither are these two.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced toward Tala, then toward J.T.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t let Jacqueline start worrying herself over where I\u2019ve gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell her we threw you in the ravine,\u201d J.T. said as he sat down near the fire, stretching.\u00a0 \u201cIf I manage to keep a straight face, she might actually believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll keep them in line, Phelan.\u201d\u00a0 His gaze drifted toward Thom, settling on him for a minute or two.\u00a0 \u201cBe careful down there,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
Thom met his gaze and nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u00a0 Always.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, then said, \u201cDo you think that you and J.T. could help Marin with decorating and\u2026things like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
A grin blossomed on his face.\u00a0 \u201cYou bet.\u00a0 Maybe even wrangle up some little presents here and there if we\u2019re lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPass the word,\u201d Thom said, matching his smile.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the season for it, and we\u2019re going to celebrate the fact that we\u2019re still here to be a light in the darkness of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Phelan smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cAptly put, fear fiach<\/i>.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t have said it better myself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thom sucked in a quiet breath and forced a smile.\u00a0 \u201cWell.\u00a0 Guess I\u2019d better round up the rest and get to hunting.\u201d \u201cHunting what?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s voice asked. \u201cPhelan.\u201d\u00a0 Thom grinned as he turned.\u00a0 \u201cJust the man I was looking for.\u00a0 … Continue reading