“All right, though I’m not sure where to begin.”
“The name of Oliver’s father might be a good place to start,” Gwen said as she cleaned her glasses. “I have a theory, but none of us know for sure who he is.”
“I didn’t realize your grandmother never told you, though I understand why. Your father is Stephen Jarngren. I didn’t know Stephen as well as I knew Joanna. He was over ten years older than me, and he wasn’t close with my brother. He was the oldest of the Jarngren siblings; there were four. Daphne Stills, your aunt, is the second oldest and only living child of that generation. Stephen and the two younger siblings are dead. I don’t know how old Stephen was at the time, probably seventeen or so, but he got into a fight with his parents and left town. My father had been the sheriff at the time, and your grandfather had told him about it. I assumed the Jarngrens disowned him over whatever it was and that we’d never see him again. But then, he suddenly came back to town in ‘57 or ‘58 with his new bride, your mother, Joanna. They had met in Philadelphia, which was apparently where he went after leaving Aldorhaven. I don’t know much about their life there, but he went to school to become a pharmacist, apprenticed, and opened the pharmacy that’s on Main Street with John Hughes. You might have seen it. John and his son run it now.”
Gwen gave Oliver an I-told-you-so look that he didn’t notice. “What was Stephen like?”
“As I said, I wasn’t as close to him as I was to Joanna, but I liked him, even if I was wary of him at first because of his family. Stephen could be intimidating if you didn’t know him, especially when he was working behind the counter. I was always afraid of interrupting him because he looked so serious, but once he realized someone was there, he would flash a wide smile and ask after their families or conditions. He seemed to truly enjoy being a pharmacist. I think he liked interacting with everyone and helping them. It was strange at first to have one of the Jarngrens working in town, especially the eldest son. People didn’t know how to approach him, but Stephen tried to make everyone comfortable. Soon, he was one of us, which irked his parents and siblings greatly. They continued to ‘disown’ him and treat him andJoanna as if they weren’t part of the family, which was fine with them. Your parents bought a little house on the other side of Cemetery Hill, instead of living in the big house like the rest of his siblings did. But they were happy together, and that’s what mattered.”
“Did he love her?” Oliver blurted.
“More than anyone. I think Stephen would have left Aldorhaven for Joanna, but she loved him too much to do so. Rest assured, it was a love match for them.” A small, awkward laugh escaped the innkeeper’s lips as he stared down at the horse in his hands. “I envied Stephen, that he could look at her like that, and that he got all of her love in return. I was in my teens when Joanna arrived, and I thought she was the loveliest woman I had ever seen. Everything I did, I did to impress her. It was foolish, I know, but you never forget your unrequited first love. I was besotted with her, and she was kind to me in spite of it; they both were. They gave me odd jobs to do to keep me out of my father’s way, and sometimes Joanna took me with her when she thought she might need an extra hand delivering someone’s baby.”
Oliver bit his lip as a warm, grey wash of wistfulness rippled across the tether. “She was a midwife?”
“Yes, and a damn good one too. She could tell when babies weren’t doing well, even before they were born, and she knew when a mother needed extra help after. Dr. Miller hated her, but she was right more often than not. Did your grandmother tell you what her power was?”
“Necromancy,” Oliver said unflinchingly.
“Her power came in handy in unexpected ways. With her delivering babies and Stephen making medicines, they were a good team.”
A silentbuthung in the air. The story stood on a precipice, and they all knew the players were about to fall. Felipe wished he could squeeze Oliver’s hand and wrap an arm around him to keep him from looking over the edge at the carnage, but they had to know.
“What happened to them?” Felipe asked.
Mr. Allen let out a heavy sigh and set the horse back on the table. “It started long before they even came back to Aldorhaven. I don’t think your parents ever intended to leave Philadelphia, but the Dysterwood had too strong of a hold on Stephen. The longer he spent away from Aldorhaven, the more it affected him. My father once said that the Jarngrens can’t leave Aldorhaven for long, and I didn’t realize that was literal until Joanna talked about Stephen’s condition. In Philadelphia, he had started to get sick once he decided to stay, but the longer they were there, the worse it got until he started to waste away, almost like he had consumption. Nothing doctors prescribed helped, so they returned to town as a last resort to restore his health. By then, he had been gone for over half a decade, and while he recovered, it had taken a toll on him. One time that first year, they tried to leave to visit your grandmother and pick up supplies for the pharmacy, but they had to cut their trip short because Stephen’s illness came back. I remember going to deliver eggs and hearing him in the next room coughing to the point of gagging. Your parents tried to leave multiple times, but each time, your father grew sicker after and never fully recovered. At that point, it was clear that the Dysterwood had sunk its claws too deeply into him, and it wouldn’t let him escape again.
“Then, Joanna became pregnant with you, and things changed.” Holding Oliver’s gaze, Mr. Allen gave him a sad smile. “She was so excited and so was Stephen. They wanted you so much, but so did the Jarngrens. The moment they heard Joanna was pregnant, they tried to bring Stephen back into the fold. At first, Joanna thought they were just trying to make amends for what happened years ago and get to know her better. Daphne had had a little boy not long before, so it stood to reason they would want to know their other grandchild. But Stephen realized his family cared less about them and more about the baby.”
“Why?” Felipe asked.
“I don’t know. Looking back, I assume it had to do with why Stephen stopped talking to his family, but I was sixteen, and Joanna didn’t confide in me like that. Most of what I know I overheard. I know your parents tried to leave one more time when she was pregnant, butthey had to turn back because of Stephen’s health. He begged her to leave him and go to Philadelphia, but she refused. She said she would stay with him in Aldorhaven until the end. By then, it was clear Stephen was dying; the only question was how quickly. The plan turned from their escape to keeping you safe and away from the Jarngrens after you were born. See, Stephen was afraid that after he died, they would make Joanna live with them or try to take you by force and kick Joanna out.
“He made a will stating his wish was for you to live with Joanna, left the house and everything in it to her, signed the business over to John Hughes, and he stole his family’s signet ring, with my help of course. He said he needed it to make his will official. The plan was almost complete when Stephen suddenly took a turn for the worse. This time we knew he wasn’t going to recover from it. Joanna sent for me to hold vigil with her, but that was when she realized sheneededStephen to stay alive until she had you. Legal papers would mean nothing to the Jarngrens with her still pregnant and you within reach. Stephen being alive was the only way to keep them at bay, so the moment she felt his life slipping away, she brought him back.”
The tether pulled taut in Felipe’s chest as Oliver sucked in a breath.
“I know necromancy is taboo, but—”
“No, no, it isn’t that.” Oliver bit his lip and shook his head. “I’m— I’m a necromancer, too. I understand why she did it. I’m just sorry she had to.”
From across the room, Felipe met Oliver’s wet gaze. All those years ago, his mother had reanimated the man she loved, and he had never known. His parents’ time together had been coming to an end when his and Oliver’s had only just begun, but like mother, like son. When Oliver nodded for him to continue, Mr. Allen sighed and rubbed his eye.
“They needed Stephen alive until you were born, so she reanimated him for over a month. It was hard on her and him. His illness had ravaged his body, and being dead hadn’t helped any since it was June at the time. He arranged for John Hughes to drop off chemicals, and they prepared something to keep his body from gettingworse; I tried not to ask too many questions. Keeping him alive while still being with child exhausted Joanna, but I did what I could between my chores to help her. Their plan had changed in that month, and your father was working night and day to figure out how to deal with the Jarngrens once and for all. I even snuck into the Jarngrens’ library to steal books for him. Stephen wanted you to be free of them in a way he couldn’t, so their plan had to be ready by the time you came.
“Then, one day in July you did. I assume Joanna delivered you by herself with Stephen’s help. Your father got to see you and be with you for a day. That was all he wanted, and I’m glad he got his final wish. The next morning Joanna and Stephen set their plan in motion. She let him go, and as if sensing his death, his family arrived to claim him. Stephen must have set some trap for them with those chemicals because the house went up in flames. In the chaos, Joanna ran here while my father was dealing with the fire. She asked me to take you to her mother in Philadelphia. She even gave me enough money to start a new life. I begged her to come with me, but she refused. She tied you to my chest, and after cloaking you, me, and the horse in invisibility, I rode as fast as I could to your grandmother’s house and didn’t look back.”
Swallowing hard, Oliver asked, “Do… do you know why she didn’t name me?”
“She said she couldn’t know your name or anything about you in case the Jarngrens caught her and tried to track you down with magic. She knew they would be out for blood once they realized what she and Stephen had done, yours or hers, so you had to leave Aldorhaven before the woods could claim you like it did your father. A name is something it can claim. The last thing Joanna told me to convince me to take you was that she wanted you and me to live well. She may not have named you, but she loved you.”
Oliver said nothing. His face looked nearly blank, but Felipe knew beneath the surface there was a maelstrom of emotions. When he reached across the tether, one feeling morphed into the next before he could get a firm grasp on them.
“Did you ever find out what happened to her?” Gwen said softly.
“No, I never saw or heard from her again. When I came back years later, I tried to quietly ask about what happened to her, but no one really knew. Some people said she died in the fire. That’s what the family said happened to her and Stephen, though I know he died before that. Others thought she killed him and ran away to start over somewhere. No one I talked to ever mentioned a baby, but I don’t know what the Jarngrens know or if they believe you survived. The one thing that was clear was that no one seemed to suspect I took you. They just thought I ran off while my father was distracted as ungrateful young people sometimes do.”
Nodding and swallowing hard, Oliver thumbed the ring Felipe had given him. “Thank you for telling me all of this, Mr. Allen. I’m sorry that I yelled at you before about the blanket.”
