Bye
Quinn returned the phone to her pocket and leaned her head back in the chair.Tomorrow, the duke would arrive.
4
Bleary-eyed, Heath joined the family for breakfast the next morning.He’d spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up with Citadel business and had then worked late into the evening on stuff for REKD Gaming.
It’d been a bit of a challenge to get the agreement to a lawyer friend without Heath’s parents knowing, but the guy had gotten it back to him with no concerns.An hour after sending the signed contract to REKD headquarters in North Carolina, Kayn’s staff had set Heath up online.
Now all he had to do was figure out how to tell his parents.
“I’m really excited about the Harvest Festival.Aren’t you, Heath?”Lia asked from across the table.“It’ll be good for you to be outside more instead of always sitting in front of a computer.”
“Wewant to be here for the festival,” twelve-year-old Joel grumbled.“I wish we didn’t have to go to school,”
“Yeah,” his twin Eli agreed.“You said you were going to start a school in the village.The bus ride takesforever.Why can’t we be homeschooled like Coop was?”
Their parents exchanged glances, but before either of them spoke, Coop’s mother, Deb, did.
“Yes, I homeschooled Coop, but it was a different situation then.He was a self-starter, but when he got to high school, I couldn’t provide him with what he needed.We didn’t want him to get behind in his studies because we didn’t have science labs or people who were excellent at higher math.By the time your parents have everything in place to create a charter school for our area, you’ll be needing all those things we can’t provide.”Deb gave them a shrewd look.“You could make better use of your time on the bus, you know.Get your homework done there, and your time here would be school free—except for anything you need a computer for, of course.But that’s inyourhands.”
“Thank you for that,” Mom said.“Everything she said is true.And since the festival doesn’t start until noon each day, you’ll only be missing a few hours of it.”
Thinking back on his text conversation with Quinn the day before, Heath watched his mother for signs of stress.The shadows under her eyes showed she’d had a rough night, probably thinking of all the things she needed to do, and she kept rubbing her temples.That could be a stress headache, or it could be a not-enough-sleep headache.It made Heath wonder if he had dark circles under his eyes because he hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night either.
“What time is Quinn coming over?”Dad asked.
“She has a family session this morning, but she said she’d finish with them here at the Citadel anyway.”Heath checked the weather forecast again.“It looks like we’ll have clear skies today, and the storm that’s on its way won’t come in until later tomorrow night.”
“I need you to give a good security evaluation,” his dad said.
“The cameras on the south fence are in place.I know there are gaps on the north side, but that’s a long way for people to wander.The festival will teach us a lot for future events.”
Heath had wondered sometimes if he should have studied cyber security too.He’d have to ask Kayn’s wife, Sona, about it because that’s what she did for REKD Gaming.
The Savages’ biggest concern was how far their Harvest Festival guests would try to wander onto the grounds.The road made a clear divide, and they’d put up barriers to discourage people from going beyond them.But opening the gates seemed like an invitation to explore, and if they visited the shops in Wildstone or bought treats from Lia’s dessert shop, that should be a good thing.
Unless someone was up to mischief.Technically, the same could be said of any other guests, whether to the village or the castle, since anyone could purchase a ticket to visit Wildstone.
“Well, I have some work to get done before the festival crowds arrive.”Heath rose.
“You’d best take one of my breakfast burritos,” Deb said, lifting a plate toward him.“With a busy day ahead, you’ll need more than coffee.”
“Good idea.”He grabbed a napkin and used it to pick up the food.He had a little fridge and a small microwave in his office.
He spent the next few hours working on Citadel things, including checking up on his programs for the Harvest Festival.He hoped none of the cameras went down during the event.It’d been his biggest concern even before the duke had registered.Thank heavens the festival was only two days long.
Heath had checked the news for any mention of a foreign dignitary visiting Washington State but had seen none.It’d surprised him because he’d thought the guy would have arranged some meetings with local officials.Didn’t they look at trade things, like import and export?It seemed like a lost opportunity for a legit visit.If it were for business.
His stomach growled, and he rose from his desk.After putting the breakfast burrito in the microwave to heat, he stepped into the hallway and went to the windows.He’d have a better view upstairs, but this would do for now.
He glimpsed Quinn.It seemed she had a family with some teens today.He hoped they were cooperative.She’d surprised him when she’d mentioned to his mother that she had a couple of sessions before the festival began.Of course, Quinn could have scheduled them on purpose to evade the duke.It’d make for an exhausting day, but he thought it a smart avoidance strategy.
The beeping of the microwave pulled Heath back into his office.He had a few more things he wanted to accomplish before he had to go out to oversee the public—and watch out for Quinn.Most of the family would be hovering nearby where possible in case she needed any of them.
He was just thinking about getting a second breakfast around eleven when he got a text from Lia.
Lia
