The girl grinned and washed her own face with her wet hands while Bree dipped her head back and wet her hair. She didn’t have a brush or comb and hoped her curls wouldn’t completely frizz up.
Bree waited and as soon as the girl whooshed her headback out of the water, she swatted water at her face. The girl gasped and immediately returned the favor. They both laughed and giggled as they fought.
Bree couldn’t remember when she’d had so much fun. She really liked the girl and once they’d found her family, she hoped she could stay in touch with her.
Once they’d finished bathing and were back on the bank, Bree collected their dresses and guided the girl into the trees. They placed their wet petticoats on branches so the sun could dry them and put on their dresses. Returning to the river, they found Horland waist deep in the middle, trying to spear fish with his sword.
Bree and the girl sat on the bank and Bree couldn’t help herself. She called, “Get him, Horland.”
He threw her a confused look and returned to his task.
Bree laughed. “You can do it.” She put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and speaking loud enough for Horland to hear, she said, “Look, sweetie, we’re having fish for lunch.”
The girl tipped her head back and gazed at Bree as if she were mad.
Bree laughed. “It’s okay, sweetie, I’m just messing with him.”
The girl gave a shake of her head but grinned.
Horland jabbed the spear in the water and hauled out a nice fat salmon. He waded in close to the bank and flicked the fish off the spear right at Bree’s feet. “Could you clean it?” Horland threw a knife next to the fish and went back to fishing.
Bree looked at the fish then glanced at the girl and laughed. “No problem, Sir Knight.”
Bree cleaned the fish and after she and the girl started a fire, she threaded the fish onto a stick and hung it over the flames.
Horland joined them on the bank and for some reason,Bree’s heart lurched into her throat at his admiring gaze. She averted her eyes and concentrated on turning the fish.
He pulled a plate out of his pack and gave it to her.
“Thanks.”
When it was cooked, she put it on the plate, and they ate with their fingers.
“Sorry, but I couldn’t scale the thing, your knife was too dull.”
“Mayhap you’ll do better next time.”
She was about to give him a mouthful but when she looked up, the corners of his mouth were twitching, and she knew he was joking.
She screwed up her nose. “Ooh, you’re funny. Next time, I’ll do the fishing and you can clean and scale the catch.”
Bree was surprised when he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. He stretched out on his back and putting his arms under the back of his head, he closed his eyes.
“Aren’t we going to keep going?” Bree asked.
“Enjoy the sun because this is probably the last time, you’ll see it.”
Bree frowned. Was he telling her she wasn’t coming back out of the forest? “Meaning?”
His eyes half opened as if his lids were too heavy to open all the way. “Meaning, no sunlight can penetrate the forest top once we leave the stream.”
“But I will see the sun again, right, when we come back out of the forest.”
He sighed. “Of course.”
Bree regarded his form. He sat back against a tree and seemed so unaware of how good-looking he was. He had a sense of humor too, and she was beginning to like his teasing. It was fun to have a joke with someone of the opposite sex who wasn’t related to her.
He pulled something out of his coat, and she gasped. Hehad her orb and began throwing it up in the air and catching it again.
