Avaleigh hugged him again. “You and I both know we’re not going anywhere. A visit? A long term visit, even. Yes, of course, we’re going to do that. But I can’t imagine us actually leaving our home and our family.”
“Maybe she’ll hate it there,” Daniel said.
“She might. But do you really hope she hates it there?”
“No, I want her to be deliriously happy there. I want her to never question her life or her happiness and I want her surrounded by love and joy all the time. And if she could manage to make him want to live here, that’d be great, too.”
“That isn’t going to happen. He can’t blend in with humans, and you just as much said so. For his safety, and hers, and her kids if she ever has them, they need to live with his people.”
“Maybe we can get a vacation home there,” Daniel said.
“Now that is a good idea!” Avaleigh agreed.
Chapter 6
Boon lay in bed thinking about the day he’d spent with Angelle. He went over every word they shared, every laugh, every question. And still couldn’t pin down the point at which he’d convinced her to come spend time with him and his family and friends. But he was glad that he had. She hadn’t even been hesitant when he’d explained that they didn’t have electricity. She still wanted to come to his house. His smile faded and he sat up in bed. “She’s coming to my house,” he said aloud. “I gotta talk to Tempest.”
He swung his legs off the side of the bed and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, then grabbed a shirt and slipped it over his shoulders while leaving it unbuttoned down the front. He padded barefoot down the hallway and stopped at Maverik’s front door only long enough to put on his boots, then quietly let himself out of the door. He was careful to make his footsteps almost silent on the front deck, but as soon as his boots hit the ground, he broke into a relaxed run. He didn’t slow down until he reached the highway, and then it was only long enough to stand silently and listen for any oncoming vehicles or people who might have been on foot. When there was no evidence of either, he hurried across the highway, then jogged into the woods and angled toward the road that ran through the community on that side. No one stopped him. No one even knew he was there. Or so he thought.
When he arrived at Tempest’s home, he stood at the base of the steps looking up toward the house. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but knew from the position of the moon, and from the amount of dew on the grass and the dampness in the air, that it was well past midnight. He quietly made his way up the stepsand took a seat in one of the chairs on the porch, overlooking the river. He smiled to himself as he admired the night view, and realized the irony of Tempest living in a mostly wooded area, on the banks of a cove of a river, despite the fact that she’d left home to move to the city and get away from the swamp. He chuckled quietly and propped his feet up on the railing around the porch.
It wasn’t long before he began to hear movement inside. Then he saw the glow of a light bulb as someone inside flipped it on above the sink in the kitchen. He stood up and faced the window, knowing that whoever it was, Brandt or Tempest, would look out of the window and see him standing there. Sure enough, it was only a minute or so before Tempest was looking back at him through the window. Rather than be startled, she canted her head slightly before she pressed her lips together and shook her head at him. She finished washing her hands, then stepped away from the window. He heard Tempest unlocking the door, then she stepped out onto the porch with Elijah in her arms. “What are you doing out here?” she asked.
“I came to ask for your help,” Boon said.
“You know I’ll always help, but what did you do to already be here asking for help?” Tempest asked. “You’ve barely been here a whole day.”
Boon wasn’t fully listening. He was watching her holding her son.
“Boon?” Tempest asked.
“Oh! Sorry, I just love watching you with your baby. It still surprises me to see you holding him. I kind of forget that you’re a mom until I see it.”
“It’s surprising to me sometimes, too. But I never had any idea that this kind of joy existed. You’ll see when you have yours.”
“If she’ll stay,” Boon said.
“What? Why wouldn’t she?”
“We spent the whole day together. From breakfast to after dark. And it was wonderful. She even said that she wants to come to Whispers to meet all our family and our friends and see the way we do things there.”
“That’s great!” Tempest said. “Angelle was born to live in Whispers. She’s always been nature oriented, at least since I’ve known her. And she loves to be outside and doing all the things.”
“She’ll be staying with me,” Boon said.
“Okay,” Tempest said, trying to figure out what the problem was.
“With me!” Boon said, putting emphasis on the word ‘me’.
“And? Ohhh!” Tempest exclaimed.
“Yeah. Oh. Can you help me change it?”
“I tried years and years ago. You said if you didn’t build it yourself, you didn’t want it,” Tempest said.
“One room, two windows and a seperate outhouse is fine for me. But not for my Angelle. I need a place like Lily’s. Maybe not exactly. But, similar.”
“You should have let me do it before,” Tempest grumbled.
