“I’ll be glad if that oaf never finds this shop again,” he muttered. “Perhaps we’ll get lucky, and he won’t find a body, either. Then he’ll be too ashamed to show his face for a bit.”
“Kit?” I tried again.
He cocked his head toward me, dripping wet like he’d just stepped out of the bath. My eyes traveled downward, imagining if he had only a towel wound around his waist…
“What is it, Penny?” he asked.
The prompting rattled my brain, and I shook myself back to reality.
“Doyouknow where to find a body?” It was the farthest thing from what I wanted to talk or even think about, but if I stood there staring much longer, I might kiss him again to remind myself how he tasted.
Kit’s mouth curved in a smirk. He balled his fists on his hips and swung one leg around in a wide stance, trying to make himself appear larger. Not as large as Anders, but it was a close impression.
“Yeah, I’ve got a place.” He pitched his voice low to complete the imitation. “Go ahead, ask me where.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Where?”
He broke into a wide smile, and it was the most stunning thing I’d seen in days. “Not telling!” He laughed, though not half as boisterously as Anders had. It was like music coming from Kit. I laughed, too, and beamed right back at him.
Once we’d quieted, he stepped close. So close. He smelled of smoke and ash and rust and that faint whiff of juniper. I almost leaned into him.
“I’ll show you,” he reassured me. “We’ll be fine.”
He moved to the tool rack, replacing and straightening what he’d used. He touched everything methodically, ensuring every bit of it—even the items on my worktable—was in its proper place. I’d learned early on that if I left a mess, I would arrive the next morning to Kit having tidied it.
“Are you baking with Rosie tonight?” he asked in the midst of his bustling.
“I’m not sure.” The last time I’d spoken to Rosie had been while waiting for the branding ceremony, and I certainly hadn’t felt like talking about pastries.
“You should,” Kit said. “I’m sure she would appreciate your help kneading the bread dough. Especially after yesterday. Besides, it’ll help keep your arms strong. Don’t want to lose all that muscle in the absence of farmwork.”
My face flushed.
He was smiling again, that kind look he seemed to share with only me. I reached across my chest, grabbing my bicep and squeezing. I’d always been lean and had grown taller in recent years, but no less strong. I could keep up with Father and Merrick when it came to hard labor, even if I didn’t look as “strapping” as Rosie claimed.
“What areyougoing to do?” I asked as Kit took a metal rake from a hook on the wall and dragged it through the forge’s glowing coals. Separated and spread, they wouldgradually cool, losing their orange color and returning to ashy black.
“I’m closing up early. The town herbalist used to make a salve for burns.” He paused in his task to indicate his chest that I imagined to be throbbing like mine. “I think we could both use some, assuming he’s willing to spare it.”
I tensed, abruptly conflicted at the prospect of pain relief and the memory of the greasy feel of ointment being smeared across my skin. It had a certain smell, not nearly as bad as the stink of burned flesh or oozing blisters, but the thought made my fingers curl into loose fists.
Kit returned the rake to its hook, then came along beside me. “I can walk you to Rosie’s stall if you’d like. It’s on the way.”
I studied him for a moment. His expression was relaxed, and his dark curls were wet and glistening. The smudge of soot across his forehead made me grin.
“I’d like that,” I told him. Shaking the sleeve of my oversized shirt down over my hand, I reached to wipe the black smear from Kit’s face. He swayed back, but only barely, and both our smiles faltered.
“You had…” I gestured, then showed him the soot now on my sleeve.
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat, then waved toward the front of the stall and the city square beyond. “Shall we?”
I nodded and started that way. The sleeve cuff hung loose around my fingers, and I gripped onto it. I wadded it in my palm and pretended it was Kit’s hand clasped in mine as we strolled across town.
33
Kit
Ileft Penny at Rosie’s stall with a few coppers and instructions to get whatever we’d need for dinner that night. Alone, I made my way to the far side of Ashpoint where the resident herbalist maintained a variety of medicinal plants. As much as I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the old man, he would have a salve on hand to help soothe the new brand, and I knew Penny needed that as much as I did.
