Derek nodded. “But there has to be a way to let her know that without telling her she can’t talk to your mother about it.”
Kendrick groaned. “I married the wrong lass, didn’t I? I should never have married Mother’s best friend.”
Derek smiled. “I don’t believe you married the wrong lass. I believed the lass you married is more complicated than a woman from the village would be. There is nothing wrong with that, but it will take some time to get used to her ways.”
“I can see that now.” Kendrick decided to keep thinking about his dilemma throughout the evening.
By the time they had walked all the way around the village and back to his parent’s cottage, supper was ready, and he perked up a great deal. “This is delicious. You seasoned it better than you did last time,” Kendrick said.
“That would be your wife. I keep telling you she’s a much better cook than I am. I never get the seasoning how I want it, and she does such a good job with it.”
Kendrick smiled at Alyssa. “I look forward to eating a meal you’ve made. The oat cakes were delicious this evening.”
“Thank you. It was my first attempt. I’ve never cooked in a fireplace either.” The whole thing had been a strange experience, but she was thrilled they came out so well.
After supper, Heather and Alyssa did the dishes together as they’d done many times in the past…or rather the future. When they were finished, Kendrick invited Alyssa for a walk.
She nodded, wondering what he was going to say after she talked to his mother about what had happened. She needed to remember not to vent to her friend, because Heather would always butt in, but in that time, well, she’d needed to.
Alyssa hugged Heather. “Thanks for supper and the cooking meat in a fireplace lesson. I bet I could make that meal again.”
“No doubt in my mind!” Heather said.
Kendrick waited for Alyssa, allowing her to precede him out the door. As soon as they were outside, she turned to him. “I’m sorry to tell your mother on you. That wasn’t my intention. I was simply telling my friend how my new husband was forcing me to stay in the village, and she took it from there.”
Kendrick smiled and nodded. “Thank you. I was trying to figure out how to tell you it isn’t fair to involve my mother, but I wasn’t certain how to bring it up.”
She laughed softly. “Well, I realize my mistake, and I will try to not do it again.”
“I appreciate that.” He started toward the woods, and she walked beside him, gripping his arm as they went along. “I need to tell you a story about my Grandmother Gillian and these woods.” He quickly recounted the story where his grandparents had played house, and his grandfather had removed a wolf’s heart.
“Someone else told me that same story! I cannot wait to meet your grandmother Gillian.”
“She’s a good person. She does some small healing of her own with tinctures and ointments. Nothing like my grandfather, of course, but she was the healer for the clan before he was born.”
“I think it’s so neat that there have been so many different powers in your family. I love hearing stories about how they were used.”
“And your family? What stories do you have about your family?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Normal family. I didn’t appreciate my parents enough. I wasn’t rebellious, but I just didn’t see them as anything special. They died in a car accident while I was in massage school, so I inherited their house. It was large, so I invited Heather to live with us, and then she met Holli, and we had a trio of roommates, who did everything together.” Heather and Holli had somehow replaced having a family. She didn’t have parents anymore, but she had two sisters.
“And this book club, I’ve heard Mother and Grandmother talk about. What was that like?”
She smiled. “How many books have you seen in your life.”
He shrugged. “Probably fifteen or more,” he said proudly. His parents had an extensive library, unrivaled by anyone else in the clan, or in the families of their allies.
“Well, imagine walking into a room, and there being shelves and shelves and shelves of books. Thousands or more. And then you climb a flight of stairs, and on the second floor, you see the same thing again, with tables all around where you can sit with friends or work on your own. That’s where we held our meetings.”
“That sounds truly amazing.”
“Come to think of it, it was amazing. Now I can hold hundreds and hundreds of books on those devices I brought back with me. It’s not the same as holding a real book in my hands. I love how books smell and feel. I will hug a special book to my chest when it’s over.”
“And the pounding sweets game?”
“Yes,Candy Crushas well.”
“I don’t know why my grandmother is obsessed with that game.”
“I have never played so I don’t know…”
