“She was worried about you,” Dax said. “She thought I might have a chance of convincing you.”
“Convincing me of what?”
He looked at her with his earnest, beautiful eyes, and said, “That even if there’s a lot of terrible in the world, even if there’s a lot that can’t be fixed, it’s okay to try to be happy.”
At the dock, Marin herded her unwanted passengers off her boat. She smiled broadly at them as if the entire journey had been such a joy. “My pleasure,” she repeated. “Of course. You’re welcome. It was no problem at all.”
On the boat, Dax was hoisting boxes, bags, crates, and furniture out of the hold. Marin helped grab them, maneuvering them onto the dock and piling them around the passengers who had already been disgorged.
Ree popped up from belowdecks and climbed up one of the lines to the mast. “It looks beautiful. Doesn’t it look beautiful, Marin? Home is the prettiest place there is.”
She thought of Flicker. “Yes, it is.” Glancing up at the snow-coated pine trees, she wondered if anyone was going to come greet them. She’d thought she saw a hint of movement, but it could have been a squirrel or a deer or one of those feral gryphons. Regardless, she had no intention of lingering for even a second longer. This had been too much of a detour.I never should have agreed to this.
She helped Birch with his cane, and then Rowan took over to guide him toward the shore while Marin assisted Rowan’s wife, Ambrel, with a narrow desk, a folded-up table, and a blanket chest… Ugh, she never should have let them bring so much stuff. She helped the white-haired toddler climb onto the dock with his mother—she still hadn’t learned their names. “You’ll find a home here,” Marin told them. “Just…” She paused, not sure what advice to give them. “It’ll be okay.”
The toddler’s mother squeezed her hand. “I don’t know how to begin to thank you. You’ve given us a chance at a future. I wish I had some way to repay you.”
Yeah, I wish that too.But Marin summoned up a smile. “I’m happy I could help.”
By the trees, she heard a friendly voice call, “Hello! Welcome to Belde!”
Marin turned her head to see the former statue and the reclusive gardener coming toward the dock. Terlu was smiling and waving, while Yarrow was scowling and definitivelynotwaving, which made her glad she wasn’t planning to stick around for this family reunion.
Ree squeaked, “Terlu! Yarrow! Land ho!”
“Hey, Ree!” Terlu called, waving at him. “Looks like you had a full boat. Very full. How did everyone fit?” Her smile seemedgenuine and broad enough to make up for Yarrow’s scowl. “Welcome, everyone!”
As she helped Rorick, the perpetually seasick florist, off the boat, she said to Terlu, “My boat has a few tricks up her sleeve. Or in her hull, more accurately. Still, it was a squeeze. Some of them areveryglad to be on land.”
“Sorry, Marin, ma’am,” Rorick said contritely. “I’ll clean your boat once, you know, everything isn’t tilting and rolling so much.”
Oh no, she didnotwant him back on board. PoorSilverhad had enough people and all their smells inside her. Marin was going to have to scour her clean. “No, thank you, sir. You just stay on the land. Permanently, please. I didn’t think it was possible for a body to expel that much and still have innards.” She clapped him on the shoulder so he wouldn’t think she was blaming him, even though she was. “Maybe don’t eat anything for another day or two, hmm?”
“Or a week,” he agreed, but at least he was smiling, a warm and friendly crinkled-eyes and crooked-teeth smile, and Marin felt a twinge of guilt for how much she’d hated having all of them on board.It hadn’t been that bad, had it?At least they’d been grateful.
Rorick boomed, “Yarrow! Great to see you! You’re looking well. Remember me? Your uncle Rorick?”
The woman with the faded tattoos of flowers rushed forward. “Yarrow! Oh, how you’ve grown! Look at you! You remember me, don’t you? Aunt Rin? Ah, little Yarrow, not little anymore! Just look at you!”
Yarrow did not seem to want to be looked at, but he had no choice: his relatives swarmed him like the winged cats of Flicker liked to swarm Perri.
Dismissing it as not her problem, Marin checked in the hold to see if there was anything or anyone left behind. She hauled up the final crate and hefted it onto the dock as Terlu was saying, “I’m not sure we have space for everyone to sleep. Marin, do you—”
“Oh no, can’t stay,” she called over the crowd. “Got another stopto make before sunset.” That was a lie. “They’re all yours.” That was true.
Ree sang,“The sea calls, and we must sail—beyond the horizon, into the bluuue!”
Dax echoed in harmony,“Into the bluuue!”
Onshore, the relatives continued to chatter. Marin used those minutes to transport the crates and furniture and other nonsense from the dock onto the shore, much farther from her boat and much less likely to find their way back onto their boat if the grumpy gardener changed his mind about the whole family reunion.
She was not going to stick around long enough for that to happen. She’d done her good deed, and she was not going to reverse it. She strode back to the boat and signaled Ree that he should begin preparing to sail.
Behind her, she heard Terlu shout, “Marin!”
Gah. No.She wasn’t doing any more favors, no more jobs for seeds, no more heroic rescues or whatever she’d just done. That was it. She began untying the line from the dock. “Told you, I can’t stay. I’ve got another stop to make, and this was… Let’s say there’s a reason I’m a supply runner, not a goddamn ferry. But they paid, on top of what your gardener already paid me. And here they are, deal complete.” She tried to smile merrily, but she knew it looked strained. Especially since she was lying about the payment. But she didn’t want anyone to start thinking she did runs for free. This was a one-time deal. Or a two-time deal, since technically she’d already done a run like this with Dax’s colleagues… Whatever. It was the last time she ferried anyone anywhere.
Terlu dug her hand into her pocket and produced a red rock. “I can pay.”
