“It’s all right, and please, call me Lewis. I hope you know that, more than anything, your parents wanted you to live a good life, one they couldn’t have here.”
“I do.” Oliver locked eyes with Felipe and Gwen. “I have a very good life.”
“I can see that. Do you want to take the blanket your grandmother made?”
Oliver’s face tightened, but he shook his head. “No, she made it for you.”
“Well, is there anything else you want to know about your parents?” When Oliver shook his head again, Lewis added, “I still think you should all leave at first light. As much as I appreciate how much you’ve done to figure out what’s going on with the dead, I don’t want to undo Joanna and Stephen’s hard work or put you in harm’s way.”
“We’ll think about it,” Felipe said quickly, catching Oliver’s gaze to keep him from saying more. “Thank you again for sharing all of this with us, Mr. Allen.”
The innkeeper gave them a tired smile and pushed to his feet. “I’m just glad I got to meet you again, Oliver, though I wish it was under better circumstances. If that’s all, then I’m going to clean up dinner andget your clothes dry enough for you to pack. Come on, Argos.”
As soon as the innkeeper was out of the room, a flood of feelings Oliver had been holding in rushed across the tether. When Felipe raised his gaze, he found Oliver staring into the fire. His face was nearly blank, but there was a tension in his eyes and limbs that put Felipe on edge. He and Gwen locked eyes, both understanding what neither wanted to say aloud in front of Oliver.I’ve got him, Felipe mouthed.
Should I pack my bag?
When Felipe nodded, Gwen laid a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “Ol, I’m going to go upstairs. You all right?”
“Yeah. G’night, Gwen,” Oliver murmured absently, pulling his legs up without taking his eyes off the undulating flame.
Gwen gave Felipe another pointed look as she slipped out of the room. Oliver wasn’t all right; they both knew it. Releasing a sigh, Felipe knelt before Oliver’s chair and gently laid a hand on his knee. While he didn’t look at Felipe, Oliver’s hand closed over his.
“Love, are you really all right?” Felipe asked softly.
Oliver started to nod but caught himself and shook his head.
“Do you want to go upstairs where it’s more private, so we can talk?”
Shutting his eyes, Oliver’s body locked, but as he let out a tremulous breath, he shot out of his seat and made for the stairs as fast as he could manage. Felipe trailed a step behind him and watched Gwen unlock their door for them as she shut her own. The moment they were safely inside, Oliver sank to the rug at the foot of the bed and covered his face. He sucked in a drowning breath followed by another. The sound hurt Felipe’s heart, but crying was far better than silence. Rubbing his back, Felipe wrapped an arm around Oliver’s shoulder and hugged him close. Oliver buried his head in Felipe’s robe as longing and sadness battered against the tether. At his silent, shoulder-heaving sobs, Felipe whispered soothing nothings into Oliver’s hair and kissed his temple. Felipe wasn’t sure what had been the trigger for tears: what he learned, dinner, falling into the Dysterwood, or everything together. Whatever it was, he wanted tomake it better or at least easier for him.
Felipe held Oliver in his arms until the pounding rain lessened to a patter against the window. With a final wet breath, Oliver slumped against him, emotionally spent and boneless. Felipe tried to pull back enough to examine Oliver’s face, but his partner shook his head and hunkered closer.
“Can we talk about what’s bothering you? I can get you a notepad if it’ll help.”
“No, I can— I can talk.” With his face hidden against Felipe’s collar, Oliver tightened his arms around his partner’s middle and said in a tremulous whisper, “I can’t believe they actually loved me, Felipe. For my whole life, I— I thought they didn’t want me, but they did. They sent me away because they loved me.”
Letting his fingers drift into Oliver’s hair, Felipe kissed his wet cheek and shut his eyes. He couldn’t imagine anyone not loving Oliver. “I didn’t know you doubted that.”
“I knew my nana loved me, but I thought my mother died in childbirth. I thought she hated me for it, knowing the end was coming and that it was my doing. But that wasn’t the case. She wanted me to be safe. I wasn’t a bastard or unwanted. My father wanted to stay alive for me. Everything I believed for so long was a lie. They loved each other and me.”
Oliver bit his lip as another silent sob wracked his form. Tears dampened Felipe’s skin as he held him close and quietly shushed him. He didn’t know what to say. There was nothing to fix, nothing to make better, only a storm of emotion to weather. A smolder of bitterness bloomed in his breast, but Felipe stamped it out as quickly as it formed. Oliver deserved a family who loved him.
“It has been a very long day,” Felipe said softly as he ran a firm hand down Oliver’s back.
“It has, but I’m glad I know now. And I’m glad I have you with me.”
As Oliver sat back on his heels, Felipe wiped his cheeks with his sleeve. His dove grey eyes were sore and red, but beneath the sadnesswas relief. Thirty-seven years of pent up pain poured out of him, and in its place, something akin to understanding had taken root. Holding Felipe’s gaze, Oliver gave him a watery smile as he twined their fingers together.
“And she— she did the same thing to my father that I did to you. I had no clue. My grandmother warned me about reanimating for love, how dangerous it can be, but I didn’t know.”
“And he was a pharmacist,” Felipe added brightly.
Oliver sniffed with a laugh. “We nearly went to the same school. And I can’t believe she was a midwife. I didn’t know any of this, yet I keep following in their footsteps. Gwen and I went to the pharmacy. I saw his picture. It wasn’t that clear or a true portrait, but I saw him.”
“Gwen told me. She said he looks a bit like you too.”
“I didn’t see it at the time, but I believe her.” Oliver wiped at his eyes and frowned as his gaze lingered on Felipe’s face. “You still have dark circles. Are you all right? I have more jerky in my bag.”
