They say that time heals all wounds, and I suppose that it must be true.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long for me to recover from the skinwalker attack.\u00a0 Despite my apparently dramatic collapse, I was up in the afternoon of the following day, gingerly testing my injured leg and earning disapproving but slightly relieved looks from my husband.\u00a0 He came to bed that night pensive, stretching out next to me on the mattress and laying there on his back staring at the ceiling, watching the play of lamplight against the rafters.<\/p>\n
I rolled onto my side and rested my hand gently on his breastbone.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Thom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m worried,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUh-huh.\u201d\u00a0 I waited for him to continue, knowing there must be more than just those two words coming.\u00a0 But he stayed silent next to me, just staring upward.\u00a0 I frowned a little.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you worried about this time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the others are talking about establishing something like trade routes,\u201d he said slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure how I feel about it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be exactly why nobody told you,\u201d I said, probably more tartly than I should have.\u00a0 But it was the truth.\u00a0 No one had mentioned it to him because everyone was afraid of his possibly vehement reaction to the whole idea.<\/p>\n
If anyone among us was paranoid about our security, it was Thomas Ambrose.<\/p>\n
Then again, if there was anyone who had a right to be, it was him.<\/p>\n
He shot me a look that was as betrayed as it was hurt.\u00a0 I winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThom\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew,\u201d he said, his voice soft.<\/p>\n
Definitely more hurt than angry.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cOf course I knew,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThom, how could I not know?\u00a0 I\u2019m surprised this is the first you\u2019ve heard of it.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been working on this for weeks\u2014almost two months.\u00a0 It\u2019s not anything new or surprising.\u00a0 At least, it shouldn\u2019t\u00a0 be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you<\/i> tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I winced.\u00a0 \u201cI just didn\u2019t,\u201d I said, not wanting to tell him that I was as afraid as the others of what his reaction would be and that I hadn\u2019t wanted to deal with the brunt of it.<\/p>\n
He winced, too, then rolled onto his side.\u00a0 \u201cMar,\u201d he whispered, \u201cI don\u2019t want you to hesitate telling me anything because you\u2019re afraid of what I\u2019m going to say or do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always going to be things I don\u2019t want to tell you, Thom.\u201d\u00a0 I rested my forehead against his as his hands slid up underneath my nightshirt, skimming the flesh of my ribcage and sides.\u00a0 \u201cBut I didn\u2019t tell you this time because it wasn\u2019t my place to tell you.\u00a0 Kellin\u2019s spearheading this effort\u2014it\u2019s her thing, her place to tell you.\u00a0 Not mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still could have\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
I pressed a finger against his lips, silencing him.\u00a0 \u201cI made a choice not to and I stand by that choice.\u00a0 I know that my telling you that I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a bad idea is going to make you change your mind about how you<\/i> feel about all of it, but I\u2019ll throw it out there anyway.\u00a0 I do think it\u2019s a good and necessary idea, though we\u2019ll have to make sure that we have some fail-safes and some safety measures built into all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah?\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike we establish a trading post that\u2019s not here, but within a few hours\u2019 ride of here,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cNo one comes directly to the settlement to trade\u2014not early on, anyway.\u00a0 We\u2019ll meet at our trading outpost and then things will be brought back and forth.\u00a0 It\u2019s not much, but it\u2019ll give us a buffer, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d he echoed.\u00a0 He was still running his hand up and down my side.\u00a0 I shivered.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s doing that absentmindedly or on purpose, but I sure as hell know what it\u2019s doing to me.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cThom,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re going to keep doing that, blow out the lamp.\u00a0 We can work through the rest of my precautions later.\u201d<\/p>\n
His brows lifted, his face a play of light and shadow as the lamp flickered.<\/p>\n
I kissed him gently.\u00a0 \u201cIf you won\u2019t, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grinned and blew out the light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
They say that time heals all wounds, and I suppose that it must be true.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long for me to recover from the skinwalker attack.\u00a0 Despite my apparently dramatic collapse, I was up in the afternoon of the … Continue reading