Page 14 of To Steal the Sun

Patti heaved herself to her feet, rolling her eyes at her daughter. “There’s no need to be so dramatic, my dear. Of course she wasn’t going to die over a little gash like that.”

“Little,” Charlotte repeated in the same faint voice, trying to get a proper look at her bandage. “Is it going to need stitches?”

“Don’t you worry.” Patti gave her a comforting pat. “It’s bad enough I thought it might need stitches at first, but now that I’ve had a good look, I think you’ll be all right after all. Which is a good thing since we don’t have any doctors on hand. I’ve seen plenty of gashes in my time, and that one should heal up just fine. I’ve slathered it in salve—it’s one we make ourselves from a plant found only in the high mountains. It’s better than anything you have in the lowlands for healing wounds, or so I’ve heard. Our salve fetches a very pretty price when the traders take it through those new passes.”

“Oh.” Charlotte felt like her brain was packed with cotton wool.

She tried to pull herself up to a sitting position, and Patti swooped in to help her. Once she was upright, she had to wait a moment for another head rush to die down before she could get a proper look at the room.

She was sitting in a living room of medium size and full of furnishing that wasn’t new but instead looked well used and comfortable. Overall it was a welcoming place, but her focus skipped over the room itself to the three people standing several steps away.

Natalie’s father and brother had disappeared, so the only one of the three she recognized was Easton. And she nearly didn’t recognize him since his back was to her and most of his body was obscured due to the hug he was receiving from the older woman. She had tears running down her face and appeared to have no plans to let go anytime soon.

The man looked equally shaken, standing close and alternating between patting Easton on the back and the woman on the shoulder. He was the only one whose face Charlotte could properly see, and he looked remarkably like—

“Are those Easton’s parents?” she asked, feeling a sweeping wave of emotion. No wonder the woman looked like she would never let him go again. They must have spent ten years fearing for him.

Natalie rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. “I knew it was going to be satisfying to bring him home. Aunt Lydia is going to shrivel up after losing all that moisture.”

I gave her a knowing smile. She had talked as if having Easton’s parents in her home was a burden, but it was obvious she actually held them in affection.

She cackled. “Uncle Jett doesn’t even know what to do with himself.” She raised her voice. “Oi! She’s awake! Are you finished over there?”

“Oh, leave them be,” Charlotte protested, but it was too late.

Easton’s mother finally broke off the hug, and Easton quickly turned to face the rest of the room. Charlotte bit back a grin when she saw his look of relieved rescue. He must have shared their concern that his mother was never going to stop crying.

His mother rushed immediately to Charlotte’s side, dropping to her knees beside the sofa and warmly clasping her right hand.

“Thank you, thank you,” she said wetly. “I heard you protected our Easton. I’m Lydia, by the way.” She glanced up at her husband, who had followed her at a more decorous pace. “And this is Jett. You have our gratitude.”

Charlotte smiled weakly and extracted her hand. “To be honest, I didn’t really do it for him.”

Lydia stood slowly, glancing between Easton and Charlotte. “You’re not…” When Charlotte looked blank, she gestured between them. “The two of you aren’t…”

“A couple?” Charlotte asked, finally realizing what she was trying to imply. “Oh goodness, no. I’m married. To someone else. Of course I didn’t want the bears to hurt Easton, but I didn’t jump in because of him. I did it for Henry. And Gwen too, of course. It’s because the plan hinges on Easton not being recognized.”

“The…plan?” Lydia and Jett exchanged a look of bewildered incomprehension.

Easton grimaced. “We hadn’t gotten to the explaining part yet.”

Charlotte grinned guiltily. “I’m gathering that.” She tried to swallow the smile. “The crying part seemed to be lasting a while.”

Easton rubbed the back of his neck, and she relented. “Of course it would! You haven’t seen each other for ten years! I think you should be the one to explain everything, though.”

“Wait!” Patti cried. “We should get Dane and Baden first. Natalie, you run and fetch them.”

Natalie looked like she was about to protest but thought better of it and left the room. Within less than a minute she returned with only her father in tow. Her mother looked as if she was going to say something, but when she saw Natalie’s defiant expression, she sighed and remained silent.

Natalie sat on the sofa beside Charlotte. “Fetch Baden? What a joke,” she muttered. “When everyone knows he barely tolerates all this stuff.” She waved around them.

“The rebellion, you mean?” Charlotte whispered back, eyebrows raised.

Natalie snorted. “He’s at that age where he thinks he knows better than everyone. He’s convinced we’re going to get ourselves killed.” She rolled her eyes contemptuously, while Charlotte stared at her.

Baden thought he knew better than everyone? She blinked several times in rapid succession wondering if there was anything to be said in response to such a statement from Natalie. She concluded there wasn’t.

“You don’t agree with him?” she whispered instead, curious. “You’re not worried about the risk?”

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