He dived off the branch and followed them. They landed in a tree not far inside the grove.
Mullein gasped. Two young women, three children, and a baby, all of them small fey. One of the women pulled a lump of something out of her bag and gave it to the children, who immediately began eating hungrily.
He flew closer. “Hello?” he called softly, not wanting to scare them.
Five heads shot up, and they all stared at him with huge, startled eyes. The young woman with vibrant purple hair burst into tears after a moment. She jumped off the branch and nearly knocked them both out of the air as she wrapped her arms around him and cried.
A little bemused, he cuddled the distraught woman and made soothing sounds as the other woman flew to them. The expression of hopeful yearning on her face had him holding out an arm to her. She dived against his chest and started crying as well.
He carefully maneuvered them back to the branch and sat down. The three children crept close and snuggled against the women in his arms.
Not knowing what else to do, he hugged and stroked all of them, trying to give as much comfort as he could. “Where are your parents?” he asked gently as the tears wound down. Small fey usually stayed with their parents until they were in their early forties, and he didn’t think either of the women was that old. The hollow cheeks and bones he could feel told him it had been some time since any of them had had enough to eat.
“Gone,” said the woman with white-and-pink-streaked hair, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “Will you help us?” Huge green eyes stared up at him, jewel bright with tears. “We didn’t know where to go or what to do. So, we followed the magic.”
The three children stared at him with huge, hopeful eyes.
He pressed a kiss to the woman’s forehead. “Of course I will help you. Come with me. I’ll take you to my family, and Rienne will get you something to eat.”
The two young women burst into tears again. He held them through the emotional storm, wondering what they had gone through to get here. Once they got themselves under control again, he picked up the baby, who smiled trustingly up at him. His heart melted. Dark-green tufts of hair covered the child’s head, standing out like unruly sprigs of grass.
It took some coaxing, but he managed to get them to follow him to the back of the house and in the window Rienne left open for the small fey. “Stay here, I’ll be right back,” he said as he settled them on the table.
He changed size in a shower of multicolored sparks, taking his largest form and letting his dragonfly wings become tattoos along his back and legs.
The small family on the table gasped.
“How did you do that?” the purple-haired woman asked.
Mullein frowned. “You don’t know how to change size?”
They shook their heads, looking amazed.
He sighed. “I’ll teach you,” he promised. “Stay here.” After getting their assurances they wouldn’t move, he went looking for Rienne.
It looked like deciding to move into the boarding house would be an easier decision than he thought it would be after all. He had no intention of leaving them alone. A greedy protectiveness welled in him. He was the oldest fey on the island, over two hundred years old, and had never had a family of his own. His parents had been killed early in his life, leaving him orphaned. This was his chance to change that. Even if they weren’t his blood, he would care for them and teach them. He understood the pain of never belonging to someone.
After a bit of searching, he found Rienne in a closet being pinned to the wall by an amorous Foxglove. He cleared his throat when he caught a flash of breast and knocked lightly on the doorjamb. “Sorry to bother you two, but I need some help in the kitchen.”
Rienne blushed and shoved her shirt back down as Foxglove stepped away from her and sent him a cocky grin.
He rolled his eyes but had to smile at how happy Foxglove was.
“What’s up, Mullein?” Rienne asked, smoothing her hair. A bit of pink highlighted her cheeks.
“We have some unexpected guests. I was hoping you could make them something to eat while we try to get their story.” Mullein led the way back to the kitchen.
Rienne gasped when she saw the small family nervously waiting for them. Foxglove went still beside her. “Oh! Look at you guys! Are you hungry? Thirsty?” She went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of milk and a jug of orange juice.
“I’ll get the others,” Foxglove said and darted out of the room.
Mullein stopped Rienne when she went to grab regular-sized glasses. “They don’t know how to change sizes, Rienne. Do you have any smaller glasses?”
She stopped, flustered. “Oh, sure, I think I do. Let me look.” Chewing on her bottom lip, she dug in the back of a cupboard.
Mullein pulled out a chair and sat at the table, smiling reassuringly at the children. “You’re safe. Rienne is very nice.”
“She’s a human,” Apple whispered anxiously, never taking her eyes off the other woman.
“Yes,” Mullein whispered back. “But, she’s pretty awesome anyway.”
Rienne set down several liqueur glasses and poured milk and juice into them. “There, you get started on this while I fix you something to eat.” She left the jugs on the table and took an egg, some ham, and a slice of bread out of the fridge. While she was cooking it, Foxglove came back with the rest of the small fey living in the boarding house.
“I told Shiloh to keep the kitchen clear for a little while,” Foxglove said, obliquely referring to Rienne’s family who had not been told much about the island’s inhabitants.
All of the men changed size and sat on the table with the newcomers. Before long they had coaxed the children into their laps while Violet and Apple told them how they came to be on the island. They paused as Rienne set a plate of scrambled egg on the table along with some fried, chopped ham and a slice of buttered toast cut into tiny pieces. Next she set down a small bowl of applesauce.
The children stared at the food hungrily but made no move to begin eating.
Mullein picked up the baby and dipped a finger into the applesauce. “Go ahead, little ones, eat it while it’s hot.” The baby cooed and sucked the applesauce off his finger. He scooped up some more as Violet carefully gave each of the children a slice of toast.
Apple picked up some of the eggs and nibbled, obviously savoring the food.
Seeing they were uncomfortable eating alone, Mullein looked at the other men and nodded to the food.
Picking up the silent cue, the rest of the small fey ate some and chatted about things they thought the newcomers would need, carefully leaving the bulk of the food for the hungry family. The children relaxed and began eating more confidently. Violet made each of them a sandwich with egg and ham between pieces of toast after they finished the first round. They ate every scrap of food Rienne gave them. Small fey could pack a lot of food away for their diminutive size. It took a great deal of energy to keep their miniature bodies alive.
When they finished, the children’s bellies bulged against their clothing and they were yawning tiredly.
Mullein raised the baby and gave him careful sips of milk between bites of the applesauce. He sent Rienne a grateful smile when she set a scrap of cloth next to him, which he used to wipe up spills and baby slobber.
She sat down at the table and sipped a cup of coffee. “We can set them up in one of the apartments easily enough.” A tender smile crossed her face as the children curled up in the men’s laps again and fell asleep. “Poor babies, they are exhausted.”
“It’s been very hard. We couldn’t find enough food for them. We kept following the magic because we didn’t know what else to do,” Violet whispered. Suddenly she flew up and hugged Rienne’s neck. “Thank you for the food and your kindness.”
Rienne looked startled as she reached up. Tentatively she rubbed the girl’s tiny back with a finger. “You’re welcome, honey. Why don’t I take you and Apple up to my room, and you two can take a b
ath while the guys get the children settled in a bed?”
Apple looked alarmed at the prospect of leaving the children alone. “I don’t…”
Mullein lifted Moss against his shoulder and gently rubbed the baby’s back. “I’ll stay with them until you get back, Apple.”
She smiled shyly. “Okay. Thank you.”
“They can stay in our apartment until we can get another one furnished,” Thistle offered as he stroked Oak’s hair. The boy slept bonelessly in Dandy’s arms.
The men stood. Bramble, Thorn and Dandy each cradled one of the children in their arms. Apple flew up to sit on Rienne’s shoulder.
RIENNE POINTED OUT the doors in the hallway and showed them which one would belong to the girls. Then she took them up to her bathroom and ran a shallow bath for them. As they stripped and eased into the warm water she set out two washcloths for them to use as towels and poured a little bit of bath gel, shampoo, and conditioner onto the edge of the tub.
Not having anything else for them to use she opened a sterile cotton gauze pad and cut it in half for them to use as washcloths.
“I don’t know what we can do for clothes right now,” she said, sitting on the edge of the tub while the women splashed in the water. Lather and water rolled off their dainty butterfly wings almost as soon as they finished scrubbing them.
“We’ll figure something out, Rienne,” Apple said as she scrubbed her body a second time. “We each have two changes in our bags. It’s enough that we are safe and have found adults for now.”
Rienne stood. “Well, I’ll leave the two of you alone to finish bathing. Just tell Mullein to come find me if you need anything, okay? If you have any dirty clothes you want washed, just leave them on the shelf outside your door, and I’ll run a load of wash tonight.”
“Thank you,” Violet whispered. Her hands were buried in the mound of foamy hair on top of her head. Tears made the girl’s beautiful golden eyes shiny.
Rienne nodded and smiled before taking her leave. She paused just outside the door to rub her belly. A little bit ago she had started feeling slightly queasy.
Shiloh met her in the outer room. “Hey. Is everything okay?”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek over his heart. The day had barely started, and all she wanted to do was go back to bed.
He tilted her head up for a slow kiss. “Your family has finished unloading the boxes. They are going to go explore the island a bit. I think Thorn and Bramble are going to play tour guide. So, after you get your new tenants settled, I plan on showing you just how much I enjoy eating clams.”
Rienne gasped. “You did hear us!”
He grinned wickedly and jogged down the stairs before she could do more than sputter a bit.
Chapter Eight
Shiloh absently sipped his ale as he watched the couples dancing in the grass. Somehow they had not made it to the pub for dinner. Instead the women had congregated in the kitchen around noon and started cooking. They had driven everyone crazy with the delectable scents wafting from the open door and windows.
It hadn’t taken long before word had spread across the island that the newcomers were having a party. The residents had begun drifting in about an hour later, most bearing food and drinks. Now, long tables were covered with remains of what had been a magnificent feast. It was certainly a different greeting than Cass and Rienne had first received.
At some point “one of the cousins,” as Cass and Rienne referred to their family, had brought out a music player and tiny speakers, which blared surprisingly strong sound.
Said speakers were currently screaming out a heavy metal song. His brows rose as he actually paid a little attention to the lyrics. I wanna fuck you like an animal? Dear Gods, music has changed in the past few decades! Moments later it faded into “Someone Like You” by Adele. The random setting on the music player certainly lived up to its name, since just a little bit ago he had heard a bouncy little tune called “ROFLMAO!” which appeared to be completely made up of nonsense words. Cass, Dar, and Carmen seemed to find the song hilarious and happily sang along while doing an odd little dance to it.
Dar flopped down in the chair beside Shiloh and glared at the dancers. “Of course the bastard can dance like Patrick Swayze. Because it’s not enough he’s good-looking, educated, and has slept with my wife.” The younger man slugged back his beer.
“What are you bitching about?” He slouched farther in his chair and wondered where Rienne was as he hadn’t seen her in a while.
“Jonathon!” Dar spat out, glaring at the man in question. He ran his fingers through his tousled black locks. Discreet burgundy highlights flicked in the sunshine. “You couldn’t slide a piece of paper between him and my wife!”
Shiloh followed Dar’s gaze and saw Cass dancing with her best friend. She was plastered against the tall man. Her head was tucked under his chin with one hand around his waist while Jonathon held her other hand over his heart. It was a very intimate embrace, he had to admit. Although the pained, solemn expression on Jonathon’s face gave lie to the impression of romance. Instead it spoke of a man taking comfort from someone he trusted to never hurt him. The man appeared to singing the lyrics of the song to Cass. After listening to them for a moment, he felt sad for the good-looking copper-skinned man.
Dar yelped in surprise as a hand connected with the back of head with stinging force.
Shiloh smiled faintly as Rienne’s great-aunt Sophie caught Dar by the ear and pulled his head around until he was forced to look at her.
“You be nice,” the older woman grumbled, showing a disturbingly sharp overbite. Her eyes looked just a little unfocused, which made Shiloh wonder what she had been drinking. “Jonathon is family. I have great hopes for lots of babies out of him,” the tiny, round woman continued. She shook Dar a little with the grip on his ear.
“Yes, Aunt Sophie,” the chastened young man said with a pained expression.
Shiloh wondered what it was about this woman that made her family treat her like an unstable explosive.
“Good! Now, come dance with me.” She towed him off, still by the ear. Once she got him in the middle of the dancers, she planted both her hands on Dar’s rump and ground against him suggestively.
Dar jumped and sent a pleading look at Cass, who had turned to watch him, grinning evilly. The minx blew her husband a kiss and snuggled closer to Jonathon.
Shiloh chuckled. He raised his drink at Foster, who was currently dancing with Carmen. The other man winked back and dipped the shapely woman in his arms.
Rienne’s boisterous family didn’t tolerate any shyness from the residents. They dragged everyone into their fun with cheerful good humor. Soon after meeting Carmen and Helja, he realized Cass and Rienne were two of the shyest, quietest members of their large family.
Two more of Rienne’s cousins, Keith and Kevin, had arrived right after lunch. The small fey were thrilled to find they brought several stacks of beehives with them.
It seemed the Amish family who bought Rienne’s property thought the selling price was too far below market value. They thought it could be construed as a gift and had negotiated a few trade items to make up the difference. Those items included some beautiful furniture and the bees.
A little while later Declan showed up carrying a large jug of hard cider. The dwarf made himself a plate of food and relaxed in a chair beside Shiloh. A blissful expression crossed his face after the first bite. “Damn those women can cook!” He ate with quick, neat bites.
Shiloh nodded, still watching those dancing. He could pinpoint the exact moment Sophie noticed Declan. The small woman went rigid and licked her lips.
His eyebrows rose as she shoved her dance partner aside and nearly wiggled her way to them.
She tried on a sultry smile, which served to make her look slightly myopic. “Well, hello, handsome. Where have you been all my life?”
Declan choked, staring up at the apparently color-blind woman in mute shock.
She bent, giving the Dwarf a good view of her breasts, and ran her hand down his beard, pausing just above his crotch. “So, is this lovely beard telling the truth, or is it false advertising?”
Declan gaped. His cheeks turned a dull red as he caught her meaning.
Shiloh knew his faced mirrored his friend’s stunned expression.
After a moment Declan smirked. “Oh, it’s the truth, my brash little vixen.”
Sophie hunched her shoulders, squeezing her breasts up with her upper arms to give them a better view. “How do you feel about alligator wrestling, handsome?”
Declan tweaked her nose. “I’m thinking I can hold my own.”
“Good!” Sophie snatched Declan’s plate and tossed it behind him. She grabbed the startled man and dragged him toward the woods. “Let’s just go find out, shall we?”
Declan looked back at Shiloh with a how-did-I-get-myself-into-this expression.
Shiloh shrugged, then shook himself all over. He felt a little dirty from what he’d just witnessed. Hopefully Declan would survive. Now he had a better idea why the family was so wary.
Hiram slowly sat down in the chair on Shiloh’s other side and smiled fondly as Helja brought him a glass of ice tea and a peck on the cheek. “Lovely place you have here,” Hiram said sipping his drink. He watched the dancers serenely with a faint smile. “My baby girls seem very happy.”
“Thank you. We like it.” Shiloh waited stoically for the expected conversation about his intentions toward the man’s niece, but it never came. Instead they discussed the land and housing that was available on the island. He got the feeling more of the family might be interested in relocating to the island. It was a little disturbing that he was centuries older than Hiram, but the man made Shiloh feel like a stripling dallying with his daughter.
They chatted for a bit before he excused himself to go look for Rienne. She had been gone for some time, and he was growing concerned. A quick glance showed Foxglove off with Dandy and Thistle. The three of them seemed to be intent on the conversation they were having.
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