Page 5 of Forged

Nick laughed. “Yeah, I think they’re actually filming today. They were waiting for a good frost, and it looks like they got it.”

For the last six months, Hawthorne House had been earning extra money to keep it in the black by hiring out the grounds to Silver Productions for filming. The house had been too modernized to use for period dramas, but the extensive grounds had multiple vistas that were ideal for filming outdoor scenes.

Currently, something about knights and royals was being filmed on the grounds. It had been bizarre to stumble across people dressed in medieval clothes as he’d tried to go about his business. The part of the grounds where the forge was located was also used for Hawthorne House’s summer Renaissance Faires, and since a fair amount of care had been put into making all the outbuildings look authentic, they were perfect for the background of what the film crew was working on.

The distant background, since Nick’s forging classes needed to continue, whether there was a film production knocking around or not.

“Is that the unicorn I’ve heard so much about?” Bax asked, settling more comfortably on his stool and nodding at the half-finished sculpture.

Nick turned to glance at it for a moment, anxiety pinching his gut. “Yeah,” he said, taking up his place in front of the unicorn head again and putting his gloves back on. “I’m way behind where I need to be if I’m going to enter it in the competition this May.”

“It looks like you’ve done a lot of work so far,” Bax said with a smile. “It’s huge.”

Nick grunted, which felt like too rude an answer for someone as lovely as Bax. “I’ve got the basics down the way I want them, but the devil is in the details.”

“So I’ve heard,” Bax laughed.

Nick positioned his goggles again, turned on the blowtorch, and picked up the pieces that he’d been about to fuse before Bax had interrupted.

Not that he minded the interruption, or Bax’s continued efforts at conversation. Bax made him happy for reasons he didn’t quite understand.

“The unicorn is a powerfully spiritual animal,” Bax said between sips of tea as Nick worked. “It’s been celebrated since ancient times for its power and purity.”

“Oh?” As much as Nick needed to concentrate on his work, he loved the sound of Bax’s voice and wanted him to keep talking. That didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but he’d never been one to question or delve too deeply into his gut feelings about things.

And he had a lot of gut feelings about Baxter Hawthorne. Gut feelings that confused him.

“Yes,” Bax said. “Unicorns are also renowned for their healing powers. They say if you come across one in the forest, you’ll be blessed with wisdom, health, and good fortune.”

“If you come across a unicorn in the forest?” Nick asked, sending Bax a quick grin.

“What, you’ve never encountered a unicorn in the forests around Hawthorne House?” Bax asked, acting surprised.

“No,” Nick said, chuckling.

“Pity,” Bax said with a shrug. “They’re quite beautiful.”

Nick peeked up at Bax, trying not to laugh. It wasn’t the first time Bax had teased him like that. He’d been cheeky back in the fall, around the time of Raina’s memorial fundraiser.

Remembering that, Nick asked, “Did you learn that while being pagan?”

It was a clumsy question, but ever since Bax had told him that he practiced that old, old religion, Nick had been curious.

“I’ve learned a lot of things while being pagan,” Bax said, taking another sip of his tea, then setting the mug down on the stool beside him. “Mostly, I’ve learned a lot about nature, the cycles of the seasons, and the fact that modern people are far too caught up in transient, material things for their own good.”

Nick grunted as he focused on the metal and sparks in front of him. “I agree with that.”

“It’s what drew me to the older spiritual traditions when I was a teen,” Bax went on. “I’ve always been a nature boy. And Paganism is sexy.”

Nick’s face heated. He glanced at Bax again as he turned off the blowtorch, then deliberately didn’t look at him while making certain the strand of mane he’d attached was where he wanted it to be.

He wasn’t entirely certain why Bax mentioning sex had him so flustered. He wasn’t sexually attracted to men. At least, he hadn’t been in the past. He hadn’t really been sexually attracted to anyone until Raina came along. He’d always thought he was too big and lumbering for anyone to be attracted to, and he’d been much too shy to make a move on the few people he’d fancied in his school days.

“Actually, I guess you could argue that my entire adult life so far has been very, well, adult,” Bax went on, crossing his arms and staring at the old forge in thought. “I mean, I think Paganism is a brilliant religion for children to be raised in, if children need to be raised in a religion at all. It teaches respect for our planet and acceptance of everyone and their differences.”

Nick glanced up again for a moment before reaching for the blowtorch to attach another bit of mane. He liked the idea of his kids being raised to respect the sort of things that really mattered instead of worshiping money, like so many people these days did.

“But unlike so many of the newer organized religions,” Bax went on, “the old ways embrace sexuality and the powerful magic of intimacy rather than calling it a sin.”

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