Page 30 of Valkyrie Restored

I really hoped so.

It was why I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

I was in too deep and only wanted to go deeper.

20

Hurrit

The grinon my face continued to grow despite my natural inclination to be broody as I watched Elin press her face against the plane window as we flew over the desolate area of northern Manitoba. Snow covered the landscape, giving the land a barren, almost planet-like from the far reaches of space look. And every time she saw wildlife, from the herds of deer, elk, and moose to the occasional polar bear sighting in the distance, she squirmed in her seat, letting out an excited squeal.

“I’m glad we’re doing this.”

Arran nodded as he steered the aircraft towards the bay on the far side of the Churchill River. “Me, too.”

And if I hadn’t known him so well, I wouldn’t have picked up the slight nervousness that he tried to mask. Not that I was any different. I didn’t want to spend most of the week with her not talking to us as she worked through the idea that the world wasn’t what it seemed, what she knew. Nor did I want her to demand that we fly her home—I would, but I didn’t want it to come to that.

Yet I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be or had been. When I brought up the idea to him only a couple of days ago, despite my outward calmness, my hands had been damp with sweat and my heart beat like crazy. I’d been counting on him to soothe my nerves since he’d been the original one to bring up the idea of showing her our true selves before taking her together. And while he had eventually—or maybe it was the orgasm he gave me—made me feel better about the idea, his nerves only increased. My usually overconfident husband had retreated into himself. The only other time I’d ever witnessed this behaviour was right before he asked me to marry him, worried that I’d leave him. It make my heart thump harder to know how much he loved Elin.

“It will be fine.” I patted his forearm before turning around to smile at Elin. “We’ll be coming in to land soon, so you might want to sit back a little.”

“Are we landing on the land?”

I shook my head. “Sort of. We’re landing on the water and will taxi onto the land, but we might be landing on ice and snow on the water. It just depends how cold it has been and how the ice has been flowing in the area. This is our first trip up here in over a month and things can change daily if not hourly up here during this time of the year.”

Her eyes widened, her fingers clutched the arm rests, but her smile beamed brighter as Arran put the plane into a shallow dive and turned towards the marker and windsock we’d erected. We’d been making this trip numerous times a year for far longer than we told people since we’d first purchased this land nearly a century ago, but for the first time, I found myself whispering prayers to gods and goddesses to watch over us and to let fate take its course.

As the skis touched down on the early ice flow, my heart started to hammer. I wanted to tell her, to show her now so that we could get it over with, but there was still a bit of a hesitation in me. Arran had said that he wanted to wait, to give her the night to settle in before we sprung the news on her, but I didn’t know if I could wait that long. I wasn’t usually the one to rush into things—that was Arran—but since meeting Elin, I hadn’t been myself. I smiled more. I laughed more. I wanted to jump in and do things without thinking through all the various consequences except when it came to her safety. Then I went overboard.

The taxi up onto the land wasn’t smooth, but without issue. The new snow wasn’t deep enough to forgo the use of the wheels which helped. Arran pulled to a stop near the hangar. From this position, the log cabin that we used as our lodge rose from the little hollow we’d nestled it in. The little valley helped to protect the house from the prevailing winds, keeping it warmer in the winter while not impacting the views of the white tundra from the windows. And at night, the Northern Lights lit up the sky, giving our guests the show of a lifetime.

“We’re here, but don’t get out yet. I’m just going to open the hangar so Arran can drive the plane in. Then we’ll take the skidoos up to the house instead of trudging through the path we haven’t shovelled yet.”

Once she nodded, I climbed out of the plane, grateful for the chance to stretch my legs and work out some of the nervous energy. The cold air slammed into my chest, but instead of shivering like a normal human, I welcomed it. It made me feel like I was underwater even when I wasn’t.

It took no time at all before Arran held open the second set of doors into the lodge proper and ushered Elin in. “Welcome to our home away from home.”

The gasp she let out as she stepped into the grand room made her earlier one seem like a squeak. We routinely referred to the lodge as rustic, but it really wasn’t. At least not in comparison to what most people considered to be rustic. In our case, we didn’t have an abundance of crystal chandeliers, a personal chef, staff, or even an indoor swimming pool like other resorts that charged similar prices, but for this area and for this type of adventure, our lodge was the height of luxury.

The outside door had opened into a well-appointed mudroom where we kept skis, snowshoes, hooks and cubbies for guests’ outerwear, along with specialized dryers and heaters to make sure the outwear was already ready to be used. The wooden walls gave the room a homey feel that played off the slate floors. The real splurge came when the guests—and us—removed their boots… heated floors to keep them comfy.

Yet that bonus was nothing compared to what awaited the guests when the double entry doors into the main part of the cottage were opened. And it was that view that had Elin stopping dead in her tracks as she stared, mouth hanging open.

The grand room—so named because it soared over two stories to the peak—contained one wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of Hudson Bay. The only interruption in the view was a giant stone fireplace which when lit, not only heated the room, but starred in my fantasies of Arran, Elin, and I, along with the plush carpet that covered the heated tile floor. My blood rushed south as I remembered the dream from the night before. One I hoped to enact the moment Elin agreed to accept Arran and I for who we truly were.

“And this is the kitchen.” Arran continued the tour, taking her past the giant sectional, the reclining chairs, and the large dining room table. She ooh’d and ahh’d over the gourmet kitchen with the granite counter tops and stainless-steel appliances.

“How about I show you the bedroom?” I held out my hand for her to take. “Arran can bring up the bags.”

I expected Arran to protest, coming up with some reason why he needed to be the one to escort Elin to the bedrooms. I wanted her in ours, but after we told her about our other sides, I doubted she’d want to sleep in the same room with us until she was ready to embrace the change in her knowledge of the world. So when he nodded and encouraged Elin to go with me, I began to worry. Was it just because he wanted to give me some time with her or did it represent something else, something worrisome? I knew he liked to run away when things got real, but never like this. This time he hovered on the outside, taking up my usual spot in relationships.

That’s it. We’re telling her tonight. Anything to get him to get his head out of his ass.

I led Elin down the left wing where the main bedroom and our office were. “The other wing contains a library and games room along with the gym and the guest hot tub on the covered deck. The guest bedrooms are upstairs if you’d prefer, but I was hoping you’d join us in ours.”

Her eyes lit up and I suspected that she was laughing at me in her mind. “Do you mean you’re giving me a choice? You’re not just putting me in yours?”

I snorted. “Now that you mention it.” I spun around, lifted her into my arms, and raced down the short hallway. The moment I was close enough to the bed, I threw her onto it before stalking towards her. “Now that you’re here, I’m not letting you go.”

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