Page 58 of Earth Dragon
She disappeared inside without closing the door behind her.
“I suppose I’m to go sit by the fire,” Shannon said, looking over at Ewan.
“Shall I join you?” he asked, the hint of that familiar warmth there.
Stop it, she instructed herself, but hope was a difficult thing to restrain.
“Please,” she said with a small smile.
Though suddenly it felt serious. It didn’t seem as though they were two people who had once almost become friends and had recently almost become mates. It seemed as though they were two lovers about to sit down and have their first truly honest conversation since they met.
The nervousness that took hold made her want to run upstairs again. She could hide in the sewing room. Remember to lock the door this time. Or, in lieu of a key, place something in front of it. She thought it would probably do no good. If he wanted to see her, he would break down any obstacle she put before him. The idea of him breaking through a door with something wild in his gaze, storming across the room to grab her, sent a tremor through her. She cleared her throat; thankful he couldn’t read her mind. When she entered the house, however, the look on Lady Marigold’s face made her wonder if the old woman could.
Thoughts plucked from heads and put in jars.
Shannon widened her eyes, but the old woman wasn’t acknowledging their reentrance. Instead, she was busy chopping vegetables for a pie.
Shannon chose the armchair while Ewan sat on a rickety thing that looked too frail to hold his weight. It made a few noises of protest before settling underneath him, making them share a smile.
“Thank you,” she said. “For calming me. Twice. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” he said, as though that was a given.
“I mean, I didn’t expect you to do that,” she corrected herself.
“I know,” he repeated, this time with something soft in his tone that sent her nerves spiraling.
Don’t be kind to me, she thought.I don’t know how it might affect me right now.
But all she wanted was this. To sit with him in the quiet, listening to a fire.
“I didn’t mean to dismiss your dream of a quieter life,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t feel you dismissed it,” he said. “You didn’t understand it,” he added with a meaningful raise of his eyebrows. “So, you didn’t dismiss it.”
“Well, I didn’t mean to misunderstand you either,” she offered.
“No, you were right though,” he said. “To question my motivations.”
“Obviously,” she nodded, making him chuckle. “There is something so infinitely sad about how easily we lie to ourselves,” she murmured.
His eyes landed back on hers, and he rested them there for a moment, then he nodded. “Yes,” he agreed. “As with any lie it’s difficult to spot.”
“I’ve spent my life living after the rules of others. I can understand very well wishing to have a space that is yours and yours alone. Free of the expectation of others, where you can make your own rules. Set your own pace. I think it’s a beautiful dream.”
“Yes,” he said.
“Maybe someday you might still have it fulfilled,” she said.
“I don’t know,” he sighed, gaze on hers with a sudden twinkle in them that made her wonder what next would come out of his mouth. “It will take heirs,” he finished, a smile splitting his face though he tried to hold it in.
She reached out and slapped him on the arm, but they both laughed.
“What shall be done about that?” she asked, her mind going unconsciously to her stomach. She removed it in the following blink. It was her turn to grow self-conscious, keeping her gaze away from his and focusing on the crystal laying on her palm.
The rainbow pattern appeared as soon as she opened her fingers. It was a good distraction and she smiled at it.
“What do you dream about?” Ewan asked, that softness still in his voice.
