Page 16 of Ties of Legacy

She pressed her dagger into the side of his thigh, to show it wasn’t an empty threat. She’d never hurt someone who wasn’t physically attacking her before, but if Elliot refused to stop following her, she had to do something to make him. There was a healer in the hamlet they’d just left, and she’d make sure he could make it back there, at least.

Elliot froze, his eyes on hers and his breathing quickening. They remained frozen there, the tension building until Avery felt as if she might snap.

Or perhaps it was Elliot who was going to break. His muscles leaped beneath her grip, reminding her that he was stronger than he had first appeared. She had a dagger against his leg and one arm in her grip, but she was suddenly unsure that was enough to hold him.

Her breath caught at the awareness that he could turn the tables on her, but he didn’t move, continuing to look down into her face. She licked her lips, making his eyes drop to them. She immediately let him go as if scalded, jumping back to put distance between them.

He looked at her, his eyes just as wide as hers and his pupils dilated. She needed to get herself together before she entirely lost control of the situation.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

A slow smile spread across Elliot’s face, lighting up his eyes and throwing her off balance. When he looked down at his feet, her eyes followed.

She closed her eyes, embarrassment filling her as her muscles relaxed. How had she made it all this way without remembering that all his possessions—including his boots!—were in her cart?

“Apparently I’m not the only thief in this clearing,” he said, making her eyes snap open again.

His smile was a mixture of smug and amused, and she wanted to groan. Instead, she answered with as much dignity as she could muster.

“I apologize. I didn’t realize they were still there.”

“That’s what you say,” he replied. “But how do I know you’re not just a thief? Maybe that’s why you hurried off so quickly.”

“What? No! I—” She broke off as she saw that his eyes were laughing at her. She narrowed her own.

“All I’m saying,” he said with surprising gentleness, “is that sometimes there are reasons for things. Sometimes there’s more to a situation than the most simple reading suggests.”

Avery adjusted her hold on her dagger, not quite ready to put it back in her belt.

“Very well,” she said. “If you have an explanation, let’s hear it. I suppose you’ve earned the right to a hearing, at least.”

“Do you mind if I get changed first?” he asked with exaggerated meekness.

She nodded and gestured toward where his pack was tucked under the cart’s bench. He grinned and walked over to it. She winced at his limp. He’d followed her all that way without shoes while she rode in comfort? After his earlier rescue, the idea left a sour taste in her mouth.

He disappeared into the trees, and she busied herself unhitching Nutmeg and lighting a small campfire. The afternoon was turning chilly, and they could both do with the extra warmth after their ordeal.

He reappeared, his face turning appreciative as he caught sight of the flames.

“Thank you.” He slipped down to sit beside it, holding his hands out to the warmth. His hair still glistened with moisture, but the rest of him was dry, and his feet were shod again.

Avery twisted her own wet hair behind her, the movement catching Elliot’s attention. His eyes lingered on her movement until she met his gaze, making him quickly look away.

“You’re the strangest person I’ve ever met,” she blurted out and immediately flushed.

She hadn’t meant to say that. It felt too revealing because what she really meant was that her reaction to him was the strangest she’d ever experienced. She was usually good at reading people, but all the signals she got from him were muddled and wrong.

She expected him to be either offended or annoyed, but instead he dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

“I’m well aware,” he said in a muffled voice. “And believe me, you have no idea.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Enlighten me, then.”

Elliot straightened and sighed. “Just promise you’ll listen with an open mind. I swear that everything I’m saying is true.”

Avery tried to hide how intrigued she was, staring at him as coolly as possible from the other side of the fire.

She must have succeeded because he sighed again.

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