“I hope you don’t mind that I brought him along to help pick berries. He barely ever gets out of the forge, and I didn’t want the time to go to waste.”
Alan grumbled a protest, and I pretended not to hear him, pulling him forward until we stood close enough to Kayla to converse comfortably.
“Of course I don’t mind.” Kayla’s attention shifted from me to Alan, and her lashes fluttered. “I won’t have to worry that I’ll overfill my basket with you here. I can’t imagine it getting too heavy for your muscles.”
I pressed my lips together, holding back a laugh. Kayla’s reaction was exactly what I had hoped for, but it truly was ridiculous how quickly she altered her opinion of Alan. With no charm to twist her emotions, she defaulted to her usual method of dealing with men.
Alan shifted a little closer to my side. “I’m not sure what my muscles have to do with it. You’ll still be the one carrying the basket back to the village.”
“Mina wouldn’t mind if you helped me. Would you, Mina?”
The polite, non-confrontational thing to do would be to say I didn’t mind. But that would give Kayla a victory she didn’t deserve and force Alan to be the villain. Claiming I minded wouldn’t help either, for it would give Kayla the chance to demonstrate how much more gracious she was. I knew better than to give her such an opportunity.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure how my opinion matters. They aren’t my muscles.”
Kayla’s eyes narrowed and Alan’s shoulders shook. He released my hand, stepping smoothly behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. His lips were a hair away from my ear when he spoke. “You are welcome to make use of them however you wish.”
His words were quiet, but not so soft that Kayla couldn’t hear. Her smile became fixed. “How long has this been going on, Mina?” She waved her hand up and down, taking in how Alan and I stood. “First Hannah, now you. Is everyone keeping secrets from me?”
Kayla’s question had a teasing air, one that could have easily hidden genuine hurt. I knew better, though. She was angry. She had enjoyed her status as the most popular girl in the village for years, safe in the knowledge that the only person prettier than her would never look at anyone but Cole. But now Hannah was breaking free of her control, and in her mind, stealing a man who should fawn over her in the process.
For the first time in years, she saw Alan as a desirable conquest, but he dismissed her, making his preferences clear. Kayla’s social reign in Skorsa was crumbling around her. No one in the village wasimportant enough to satisfy her, but she still expected to have her pick of all the men.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m hardly trying to keep secrets, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought Alan with me. Now, let’s pick some strawberries.”
Kayla stood, grabbing the basket she had filled a quarter of the way before we even joined her. “I have enough for the tarts I wanted to make. I need to get back home. I wouldn’t want to disturb your time together.”
She flounced away. Alan and I watched her go. When I was certain she wouldn’t hear, I turned my head up to face him. “I feel so bad for Jeff. I hope he figures out what she is really like before it is too late.”
“You think she’ll marry him? I always thought the fact that his brother was inheriting the family shop would protect him.”
“He’s in Haiwella at his uncle’s shop right now. From what I understand, he is deciding if he might want to move to the city and take over there when the time comes. Or rather, he is establishing himself so that Kayla can decide if that is enough to impress her. Given the way things are going, she’ll probably decide that marrying a small-time cobbler in the big city is better than staying at the top of the social ladder in Skorsa.”
Alan understood immediately. “Because she is no longer certain she is at the top of the ladder here. The thrill of the city must look appealing. What was she saying about Hannah?”
“Phillip is courting her. Has been trying to for a while, from what I gather, but Kayla was so certain all male attention was hers that Hannah didn’t even notice his eyes were only for her until recently.”
“Please tell me Sam has at least tried to warn Jeff.”
“He’s afraid that if he speaks out too strongly, Jeff will dig his heels in and refuse to listen to anything he has to say.”
“Damn. I bet Cole is tiptoeing around, too. Otherwise, Jeff wouldn’t have gone to Haiwella at all.”
“You don’t think he might be interested in this opportunity if Kayla wasn’t a factor?”
“We talked about moving to Haiwella when we were younger. Cole didn’t want to move away from his family, even if Gemma was willing to go with him. Jeff said he’d go with me if I wanted, but he wasn’t interested for himself.” He stepped to the side, taking my hand in his once more. “We should get back to the forge.”
I let him lead the way. “Would you have done it? If Powell hadn’t come, would you have moved to Haiwella?”
“After my father died, no. I felt like I had to stay and uphold the Smythson legacy. But if he had lived, I probably would have. It would have taken me a while to work up the courage to tell him that I didn’t want to stay in the village working as a blacksmith, but I think it would have happened.”
“And now?” I asked softly. “Do you still feel like you have to stay?”
“I don’t know. With the charm broken...” He paused, his eyes widening. “The charm is broken.”
“Kayla’s behavior certainly made that clear.” I should have been celebrating, teasing Alan about how quickly his muscles won over the other woman, making plans for how he could approach people at the Midsummer Festival. But all I could think about was his unfinished answer. “Now that the charm is broken, will you stay in Skorsa?”
“It will be different with Powell no longer in control.” Alan stared into the distance, then shook his head. “But I’m not sure I’ll ever feel content here, even if Magistrate Wrison locks Powell up and he can never use another charm against me again.”
