by D. Lieber
She squinted, trying to make out his expression. What’s he thinking about? she wondered.
Sawyer glanced up, meeting her eyes for just a moment. Evergreen froze, her body flushing as his heated gaze bespoke his thoughts. He looked back down, the exchange taking only a second.
What the hell was that? she wondered, dropping her eyes to her own food. But she wasn’t stupid, she knew what it was. And even worse, she recognized her very real reaction to it. She shivered once as if his releasing her gaze had left her out in the cold.
Glancing back at him again, she bit her lip. Sharing a room with him is going to be much harder than I thought.
Chapter 24
Sawyer chided himself internally. Why did you do that? Get a grip. You’re having breakfast for gods’ sakes.
Sawyer glanced up at Eeva again, carefully controlling his expression. But she wasn’t looking at him. She stared down at her French toast as if it took all her concentration to eat it.
A vivid image from his dream flashed into his mind, Eeva’s face stiff with pleasure, her eyes boring into his as he thrust deep inside her.
His cock throbbed. He dropped his fork, and a loud clang sounded through the dining room when it hit his plate.
As everyone’s attention turned toward him, he pushed back from the table. “I’m, uh, not that hungry. I think I’ll just go take a shower and eat later. Thanks for breakfast though.”
He didn’t wait for their responses before making his escape. Using the movement to push all thoughts aside, he gathered his clothes and headed to the bathroom.
Sawyer stepped under the rainfall showerhead and let the warmth of the water ease his tense muscles. His sigh echoed off the stone walls of the grotto-style shower. He’d kept the lighting in the bathroom low, only turning on the small, dim bulb in the shower itself.
As he began to relax, more images from his dream arose in his mind. He clenched his teeth together, stifling a groan. His balls ached as his cock strained to get larger than his skin allowed.
He sighed again, slowly, puffing his cheeks out as the hot water streamed down his face. Then he reached for the conditioner and squeezed a decent amount of the thick cream into his right palm.
Closing his eyes, he braced his left hand against the stone wall in front of him and hung his head. The water hit the back of his head, gathering in his hair before dripping into his eyes and down his neck.
He let the myriad of images flow and closed his hand around the shaft of his throbbing cock. He shuddered, the combination of the pressure from his hand and the warmth from the water sending a jolt of pleasure through him.
Eeva’s hair smelled of lotus as he buried his face in its soft waves. Her breath was hot and uneven in his ear. He could feel the weight of her in his lap, and his hands glided easily over the smooth skin of her back.
“Sawyer,” she whispered his name. “Come for me,” she begged.
As he tensed and shuddered and his released desire pumped out of him, he swallowed his moan of satisfaction.
He sighed then took a few deep breaths, pressing his fingertips into the rough wall of the shower.
He’d long lost count of how many times Eeva had featured in his sexual fantasies. But this time felt different. The look she’d given him the day before, her flushed face at breakfast, never had his fevered daydreams been so close within reach.
With his sexual tension released, his mind dwelled on foggy recollections of why his heart had never let her go. The kind witch who could laugh with the carefree lightness of an untroubled soul, whose eyes flashed as she stood up to face her peers and elders when she felt an injustice had been done, who cried at others’ pain be they human, animal, or plant. She had long enchanted him.
He knew any distance she set between herself and the world was only to protect her tender heart. She cared too deeply, felt too much. It was a very real problem for an empath. He had long watched her slowly build her walls, brick by mental brick. If he knocked on the door, would she let him in? He knew she was capable of protecting herself, but still… Couldn’t he protect her, too? Was that so wrong?
After his shower, Sawyer dressed and finished getting ready for the day. As he entered the sitting room, he asked Ria if she needed any help preparing the lodge for everyone else to arrive.
She looked over from the mantle while she fussed over the ivy not being evenly distributed. “No, no. You’re fine, hon. You’re a guest too after all. And I really don’t have much left to do. We already changed the sheets in the attic. And Cassandra is up there vacuuming now.”
“Well, would you like anything to drink? I’m heading to the kitchen,” he offered.
“Actually, I’ll have a cup of tea if you’re putting the kettle on. Thank you, Sawyer. You’ve always been so thoughtful.”
As Sawyer made his way to the kitchen, the doorbell chimed. The sound of feet thumped rhythmically on the stairs before Eeva and Sol appeared.
“I got it,” Eeva called as she raced the boy to the door.
“Evergreen, Sol, don’t run on the stairs,” Ria chided. “What if one of you fell?”
Curious to see who had arrived, Sawyer trailed after them.
“Uh, Mom…?” Eeva called, hesitating as she stood beside Sol in the doorway.
Sawyer came up behind them and looked over Eeva’s shoulder. A smiling young man, probably in his late 20s early 30s, stood on the porch. He wore a well-kept suit with a tie and a winter overcoat. In his hand, he held a black leather book and a stack of glossy papers.
“What?” Ria shouted from the other room.
“Um, there’s a Jehovah’s Witness out here,” Eeva called back.
Seconds later, Ria arrived at the threshold.
“I couldn’t help but notice the wreath on your door,” the man said. “Do you have a moment? I’d like to talk to you about Christmas.”
Ria tilted her head. “Are you new to this area?” she asked the man.
“Yes.” He smiled. “My wife and I just moved to Birchland with our baby boy.”
“Oh, well, welcome to the neighborhood. I’m Ria Pendre. My husband and I own this retreat center. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? We were just about to put the kettle on. You’re a ways from town way out here, and it’s pretty chilly out.”
“I’d love to, ma’am,” the man said. “Thank you very much. I’m Caleb.”
“Well, come on in, Caleb,” Ria invited.
Eeva and Sawyer stepped to one side to let him in while Ria took Sol’s hand and led the way.
Sawyer met Eeva’s eyes after she’d shut the door behind their visitor. “What…?” he whispered.
Eeva shrugged then shook her head. “I have no idea,” she murmured back.
Chapter 25
Evergreen sat beside her mother at the dining room table. Sawyer was at the end, on Evergreen’s other side. Caleb sat across from Ria.
“Is black tea all right?” Ria asked.
“Yes, thank you for asking. Some of my faith do not drink caffeine, but I find I’m all right if it’s occasionally and in moderation.”
Ria smiled. “The middle way is often the best choice, I find. And I always ask. Running a retreat center, we encounter quite a few people with dietary restrictions.”
“It’s a beautiful lodge,” Caleb complimented. “How long have you been running the center?”
“Oh, let me think. Eeva is twenty-two now, and we moved in when she was around a year old. Twenty-one years. Wow, I hadn’t realized it had been that long. How long have you been in town?”
“About a month. I moved here for work,” he said.
“Are you liking Birchland so far?”
“Yes, the people at the Kingdom Hall are very welcoming.”
Ria nodded. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“This is my first time out spreading the Word in Birchland. You’re the first people willing to listen.”
“Well, I enjoy learning other people’s perspectives,” Ria said.
“I no
ticed your home is decorated with a lot of greenery. Do you know what Christmas trees, gift-giving, and merry making have to do with the birth of our lord Jesus Christ?”
Evergreen exchanged a glance with Sawyer.
“I couldn’t say,” Ria answered.
“Nothing. All those things have absolutely nothing to do with his birth. Those are Pagan traditions. They stem from an ancient Roman holiday known as Saturnalia,” Caleb proclaimed. “Jesus wasn’t even born in December. That date was chosen to Christianize the festivals surrounding the winter solstice.”
“I do know that, yes,” Ria replied.
“The Bible tells us that only Christ’s death should be commemorated.”
“Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate Easter?” Evergreen asked, curious at the contradiction.
Caleb shook his head. “No, that too has Pagan origins. Rabbits and eggs? Those are symbols of false gods, of Pagan celebrations of fertility and spring. No, we commemorate the Memorial of Christ’s Death.”
Evergreen raised her eyebrows and blinked. “Well, that actually makes a lot of sense.”
Caleb looked at each of them in turn. “This is not new information to you,” he said, his eyebrows scrunching.
“That’s not true,” Evergreen countered. “I didn’t know you have a holiday for Jesus’s death.”
“But everything else… You know of Christmas’s Pagan origins, but you still celebrate it.”
The idea seemed to baffle him as if just knowing the information would bring them to his way of seeing.
“Well, not exactly,” Ria answered. “You see, we agree with you. We just—”
Ria’s explanation was interrupted as Wes burst into the dining room. “Honey, look! It finally came in the mail. And just in time for Yule, too.”
Wes wore a red cloak, its edges embroidered with golden Celtic knotwork. As he spun his back to them, he showed off the huge gold pentacle emblazoned on the back.
“Cool, right?” he said, turning back to them with a grin. “Oh, we have company. Sorry to interrupt. I was just excited. Hi, I’m Wes.” He held out his hand to Caleb.
Caleb’s eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open. He closed it and opened it again like a fish gasping for water. He took Wes’s hand by reflex. “Caleb,” he murmured like the wind had been knocked out of him.
“Welcome, Caleb.” Wes turned his attention to Ria. “What were you guys talking about?”
“Oh, uh, I was just leaving actually. I have other people to visit, you see.”
Evergreen tried to stifle a laugh but ended up snorting.
“It was nice to meet you all. Thank you for the tea.” Caleb made a hasty retreat.
As soon as he was out of sight, Evergreen burst into laughter. “Oh my gods! Did you see his face? Dad, your timing was epic.”
“Evergreen,” Ria scolded. “Don’t be unkind.”
“Oh, come on, Mom. It was funny. They would like nothing better than to convert us. I mean, they love their martyrs, people who died refusing to give up their faith. But what do they do? They’re out there trying to take faith from others, trying to take our gods, without a second thought. So what if I laughed a little at his reaction to finding out that the Big Bad Pagans are still alive and well.”
“That’s not how we educate people, Evergreen. That’s not how we find common ground and understanding,” her mother lectured.
“Yeah, well. You have your way. But this is my way of coping with the fact that we are never going to understand each other.”
“That’s just not true. You just told Caleb that you understood why Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Christmas and Easter,” Ria pointed out.
Evergreen frowned. “Yeah, but with the same information he went a completely different direction. I mean, he says these holidays are Pagan, so you shouldn’t celebrate them. And we’re like, yay Pagan holidays are still being celebrated.”
Ria gave Evergreen a stern look, one she felt more than saw. “You wouldn’t like it if people laughed at you for your beliefs, Evergreen Pendre.”
Evergreen sighed. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“What is the Rede?”
Evergreen rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
“No, I want you to say it.”
Evergreen groaned. “An’ it harm none, do what ye will,” she muttered.
“Good.” Ria nodded with satisfaction. “Now, come here.”
Evergreen plopped her head onto her mother’s shoulder as Ria embraced her. Her irritation slid away the longer her mother patted her head.
“There is too much hate in the world already,” Ria murmured. “We need to be better.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
After releasing Evergreen, Ria stood from the table and took her and Caleb’s cups to the kitchen.
Sawyer leaned toward Evergreen, resting his elbow on the table and cupping one hand around his mouth. “It was funny though,” he whispered to her.
Evergreen snickered under her breath. “Right?”
Chapter 26
It was shortly before lunch, while Wes was chopping up fruit and setting deli meats and cheeses out on the island that utter chaos descended on the retreat center. The others began to arrive.
Piper rang the bell first, and Sawyer happened to be closest to the door at the time. As he opened it, he looked down at the petite woman buried deep in her winter things, only her light grey eyes peeking out from her hood and scarf.
“Piper? Is that you in there?” Sawyer asked.
The hood bobbed in assent.
Sawyer stepped aside so she could enter. As soon as the door was closed, Piper pulled the scarf from her face, sputtering as she tried to get the fuzzies off her lips.
“It’s cold out there!” she complained. Then, she turned back to Sawyer and looked up at him. He was over a foot taller than her and nearly twice as wide. She leaned back as though he were a giant.
“What the heck are they feeding you? When did you get so huge?” she asked.
“You know, that’s exactly what I said to Tara when I saw him, too,” Ria said, coming to see who had arrived.
“Ria!” Piper grinned as she held out her arms to the woman. “It’s been too long.”
Ria agreed and embraced her.
“Don’t you have any bags?” Ria asked.
Piper pulled off her hood, revealing her pixie-cut, white hair. “I do, but I left them in the car. The heater is broken, so I thought I’d come in and warm up first.”
“I can go grab them for you,” Sawyer offered.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. There’s too much.” She waved her delicate hand.
“It’s no problem,” he insisted.
“I’ll have Eeva and Cassandra help, too,” Ria said.
The cousins came when they were called, and the three of them carried Piper’s things into a room on the second floor.
Eeva shook her head as they placed Piper’s luggage at the foot of the bed. “I will never understand how someone as small as Piper can snore so loudly.”
Cassandra laughed. “Remember the first time we all went camping, and I told you it was a bear?”
“Remember? I didn’t sleep the whole weekend!”
“Sometimes, you’re too easy, cuz.”
“I don’t remember that,” Sawyer said as they walked down the stairs.
“You and your mom hadn’t moved here yet,” Eeva explained.
Sawyer had only just bitten into his sandwich when the doorbell rang again.
Cassandra, who was putting a glass of milk in front of Sol, told everyone she would get it.
A few minutes later, she reappeared, a woman with frizzy, curly, black hair streaked with grey following her.
“Look who it is,” Cassandra announced.
“Grandma!” Sol squealed and raced to hug the woman, who reacted with equal enthusiasm.
Morrigan embraced Ria next. “Little sister,” she murmured. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Oh, don’t worr
y about it. We know you work crazy hours at the hospital.”
“Hello, dear heart,” Morrigan greeted as she kissed the top of Eeva’s head. “How’s school?”
“Well, I thought I was about to start my last semester, but… I’ll tell you about it later.”
Morrigan chuckled. “All right.”
“I put you on the second floor with Cassandra and Sol,” Ria told her sister.
Morrigan nodded. “Cassandra, would you take my things upstairs while I catch up with my favorite grandson?”
“I’m your only grandson,” Sol pointed out.
Morrigan blinked. “Are you? Are you sure we haven’t misplaced a brother anywhere?” She looked around as if she was really searching for another child.
Sol giggled. “You’re silly, Grandma.”
Morrigan ruffled the boy’s hair as Cassandra left to take up her things.
Devan arrived next, his booming voice carrying to the sitting room as he greeted Eeva at the door.
“Am I the last?” he asked.
“Not this time,” Eeva said, leading him into the room where the others were catching up.
Devan was not a tall man, and he was stouter than Sawyer remembered. But he still had the same chin-length pale hair and the same well-trimmed goatee. He smiled his greeting at everyone. “You all thought I would be late? Didn’t you?” he challenged.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Wes teased.
“Devan, you’re in the attic. I hope that’s okay,” Ria told him.
“No problem at all.” He patted his belly. “I could use the exercise,” he declared with a chuckle.
Cassandra and Eeva carried his bag and CPAP machine upstairs for him.
It was still early afternoon when Dorian and Cory arrived.
“Can I get some help?” Cassandra called from the front door.
Sawyer and Eeva rose to assist her, realizing why she’d asked when they arrived.
Cory, a six-foot-three, ripped beast of a man, stood just inside, his foot in a splint and crutches under his arms.
Meanwhile, his husband, Dorian, held a car seat in one hand and a teddy bear in the other. He had diaper bags crisscrossed over his chest.