Clearing his throat, he added. “And your family. They’re like family to me now, too. Once your father is fully recovered and can properly care for the girls, maybe you can start having a life of your own.”
“But I don’t want—” I started to argue out of habit, but the words died on my tongue as what he’d said sank in.
A life of my own. It had never been in the realm of possibilities before.Wasit what I wanted?
When we got to our new home, wherever that would be, I would no longer be a dowry-less burden but a woman with means of her own.
I would no longer be needed day and night by a father in too much pain to keep up with two active little girls. A life of my own would actually be possible, though it was hard to imagine at this point what it might entail.
Looking away from my father and sisters, I met Pharis’ serious gaze again.
“Thank you,” was all I could think of to say. “Whatever my life holds from this point onward, you have made it immeasurably better.”
For a long moment, our gazes held, and then Pharis began moving toward the door.
“You can thank me by taking some time for yourself today,” he said. “This cabin is stocked with food, it’s clean. There’s nothing you have to gather or prepare or fix.”
I blinked as a wave of unfamiliar ease came over me.
Shaking my head, I said, “I can’t even imagine what I might do by myself with free time.”
“Well then I’ll usemyimagination,” he said. “As I have had an abundance of free time throughout my life, I’ve become something of an expert in indolence.”
He flashed me a mind-erasing grin before adding, “I’ll return in a while to fetch you, after you’ve had time to visit with your father.”
I was a bit breathless when I said, “I’ll be ready.”
Pharis returned a few hours later, knocking at the door.
I opened it to see he’d bathed. His long hair was still damp. I was grateful I’d taken advantage of the cottage’s indoor bathing room myself.
“Hello,” I said, smiling. “Would you like something to eat? I’ve just given lunch to Papa and my sisters and was about to eat something myself.”
“No, thank you. In fact, I’ve come to invite you to take lunch withme.”
“Where?” I asked. Did this village have a boarding house that served meals?
Pharis smiled. “You’ll see.”
Leaning into the doorway, he waved hello to my family. “Can you all spare her for a little while?”
Papa was sitting at the table, reading aloud to the girls from one of their books. They all smiled and waved at Pharis.
“Go on and have fun. We’re fine here,” my father said.
I shrugged and laughed. “They’re fine here.”
It felt strange to say it.
As I left the cottage with Pharis, a sense of lightness filled my body to the point it seemed my boots barely connected with the ground.
Papa wasreadingto the girls. He could help take care of them. It wasn’t all on me.
“You look happy,” Pharis said, his smile reflecting my own.
“I am happy. You saw him—Papa really is healed. The girls are rested and well.”
Shooting him a side glance, I said, “And someone is taking me to lunch… somewhere?”
