When Jamie’s cell phone rang, he smiled. “Hello, love.” She giggled; his wife of ten years was the love of his life. “What did the doctor say about the baby? Everything all right?”
“Yes, you worrywart, everything is going well. He said that the baby is in the right position, and we are both doing very well.” He leaned back in his seat, forever waiting on the but in his life. But she knew him better than anyone, and answered his unspoken question. “There is no but, Jamie. He said that we’re doing very well. I promise you.”
“You know that I worry. About you and her. She’s our baby, and you’re mine.” Kristie giggled again. “Tonight, when I get home, we’ll tackle that bed again. I swear, those instructions were meant for someone much smarter than I am. And once we get it together, if we do, then we’ll figure out those layette sets. I’ve got a list now, so we can go shopping for it.”
He hadn’t had to look it up. The women in his office with children had told him what he really needed and didn’t need. He had learned from them that there were things out there that the furniture companies made you believe you needed, and you really didn’t. But he was armed with a list now, and he was glad for it.
“You nut ball. You’ll get it together, and then we’ll work on getting the dresser in there. It’s been ready for months.” He told her that he knew that, he was pacing himself. “You’re avoiding it because you don’t want to have to move it again. I had no idea the thing was so heavy when I bought it at that auction.”
It was, he thought, the only piece of furniture that they owned. That and the baby bed. His mom, a saint she was not, had let them use the house and contents until he could find himself a real job, one that paid well. But they’d never own it. Jamie couldn’t convince her that he did have a good job. And no matter what he did with the banking industry in town or even right outside of their area, his mom would sabotage it by telling anyone and everyone that if they gave him a loan, then she’d make their lives difficult. And most of the people in their little town knew her well enough to know that she would, too. So, they were stuck in the house until he did as she wanted, which was to quit the Bureau and find a job that she wanted him to have. And Jamie wasn’t going to do that, not if he didn’t have to.
As for the dresser for the baby’s room, he’d hurt himself just getting it in the place. But he’d not told Kristie that. She’d do it herself if he even kidded about something like that. Kristie was like a bear with her cubs when it came to him. As he told her about his day so far, he looked through the file he had. That was when he paused on the truck that was at a stop light. Another thing that he wasn’t sure why he’d taken when they were looking for her. But the truck had sat there for a long time before it finally moved on.
After telling Kristie that he had to go, he stared at the picture. There was something about it that caught his attention, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Laying it aside, he started laying out the other items that he’d collected. Most of it was just junk; a receipt for a restaurant and what she’d had to eat, in detail, and how much she’d left behind. He had no idea why anyone would care that she didn’t eat catsup on her fries but mayo, but he knew that about her.
“So much trouble for just a relative.”
He glanced at the picture off and on throughout the rest of the afternoon. There was something there, but for now, it was too close to him, he thought. As he worked through his schedule, he glanced at it once more and saw it. Just like a blow to the head. She was in the back of the truck.
Picking it up, this time with a magnifying glass, he looked at it again. Yes, it was a person. Maybe not her, but he’d bet any kind of money that it was. Writing down the plate number, he started to call in his team and decided that he’d check this out himself. That way, if it was nothing more than a wrapped-up rug, he’d not embarrass himself any more with his boss.
Going home that night, armed with the information and file that he needed, he moved the dresser into the bedroom and started on the bed. It was easier to move, he thought, because he’d taken out a little of his anger that he had at Bates in shoving it down the hall to the nursery. About half way through getting the sucker done, Kristie came and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and she smiled.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” He asked her what she meant. “You’ve been muttering to yourself since you got home. First of all, there are the names that you’ve called your boss. He doesn’t sound like anyone that I’d like, by the way. Then there is Emma. I might have taken offense when you kept saying another woman’s name, but I don’t believe you’d ever leave me. Not now.”
“Never.” He kissed her belly and asked her to have a seat. After telling her everything—she was his best partner in his job—he finished up the bed. “I don’t know what the big deal is, honestly. She could be nothing more than just a woman that is as confused as I am about why we’re chasing her. I mean, Bates has this obsession about her that borders on insane. And I have to tell you, Kristie, he’s really stressing me out about this. Between him and my mom, there are days when I feel like I’m not going to live to see my kid grow up. Always calling me names and cutting my intelligence. I can’t stand the man, to be honest.”
“Don’t say that, honey. I need you. You’re all I have in this world. Please, just let me help you. Okay. What is it you know about her, other than the picture? I mean, does she have any kind of record?” Jamie told her none that he could find. “And Bates, he’s been having you search for her since you’ve been working there? All two years.”
“Yes, and he pointed that out to me today. Twenty-three months, and no progress. I think I’ve made some good progress, but he’s mad because we’ve not found her and brought her in. Why is that, do you think? I mean, why this woman, and why him?” She shrugged and rubbed her belly. Kristie had been a good attorney, still was, but with having a few complications at work, mostly not getting enough rest, she was on medical leave for a while. “Are you all right? Do you need a nap?”
“No, I do not need a nap. You will if you ask me that again.” He grinned at her. “Well, I like your idea about going to see her. Without the rest of the team there telling him of your every move. I might like to go too. That way, we can say we need to get away before the baby comes, and it is Saturday tomorrow.”
Jamie wasn’t so sure that was a good idea, but as far as Kristie was concerned, it was a done deal. So he made arrangements to go tomorrow, with his pretty wife. They’d be in Ohio before noon, and then see her. It sounded sort of fun, really. And he was suddenly looking forward to it.
Chapter 4
Emerald sat in the empty field and looked around. She knew that the princess of the woods had been moved here recently, and she wanted to speak to her. It wasn’t urgent, but it might be important for them both. As soon as Spud came to sit upon the grass in front of her, she waited for him to speak first.
“You are the new mate to Lord Chase.” She nodded to him and he bowed. “The lady is working on the other end of the woods, my lady. She asked that you come to see her there, if you can. If not, she wonders if she may visit you in the morning.”
“I’ll go see her now.” He nodded and asked to sit upon her shoulder. “Yes, but you know that I am cold, correct?”
“I do, mistress.” She walked in silence. He was hanging onto her ear as she made her way through the trees and grasses. “If I might ask, mistress, what is it you wish to speak to her about? If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind, but I am in the area now, and I wish to not just make her aware of me, but also that there are more dragons, smaller ones, in her realm. I don’t want her to come upon them and be startled.” He said that was a good idea. “Yes, and if she won’t mind, we’ll need to see about getting more food for them, as well as fruit. She has the help of the Crosby family, so I would like to help her with this project as well.”
“The Crosbys, they’ve been more than helpful with that. I have so many wanting to co
me to our realm that I have to turn a few away daily. It’s a good thing, I think, to have so many people wanting to come around. But we must, like humans, pace ourselves so as not to over populate our area.” Emerald agreed with him. “You’ll see new fruit trees here in a bit. More than I’ve seen in a long while, let me tell you. It does my heart good to see it. When she was moved here, with the help again of the good gentlemen, she asked for trees to be planted. Gave them a list of things that they could find for her, and you know what? They brought her everything on that list. Pairs of trees so that they might be fertilized by the other creatures here as well.”
“They are very generous people. I’ve come to realize that as well.” Just this morning, she’d been told that there was a council forming to help her with the other dragons. Not that they needed one—she’d been in charge of them for a long time now—but to make sure that there wasn’t any gap in the systems for their livelihood. Also, cold storage had been provided for those just hatched and in need of shelter. “You and Fairaday, you’re happy here too?”
“Oh yes, my lady. Had it not been for the warning about the place we’d been before, I don’t know what we might have done. Lady Jewel, she gave us enough notice that we were able to move not just ourselves, but all the creatures that lived in the glen as well. She is in our hearts now, one of us, as are you.” She knew that as queen it gave her special treatment, but today she was going to beg for help, and offer her own services to help everyone. “There she be, mistress, near the apple trees.”
Beautiful, she thought when she first saw the woman. Her aura was bright with goodwill and happiness. Emerald had never met this particular wood nymph, but she had known a few that, even in a larger glen than this one, were never as happy as this one seemed to be.
“My lady.” Fairaday bowed low and Emerald did the same to her. She hoped they’d be friends of a sort, and she would like to be able to call upon her should she need it. “What is it I might help you with? I’m sure that we can help each other.”
“Yes, I think we can. There are a few dragons coming to be with me. Not overly much, about four dozen. They are small, as you know, until they are needed.” Fairaday nodded as she sat on the ground. “I would like to propose that I have some of them work with you here. To clear some of the land that you might be able to use. As well as they can get rid of any rubbish that you wish to dispose of. They are more than willing to help. I must warn you, I have a few that I have had some troubles with. Should you have the same, it would be helpful to me if you were to let me know. They know the rules of the land, but I’m afraid that after all this time, they think they’re better than us.”
“I’ve had the same trouble at times. I don’t want to tell you what to do, my lady, but the best way to rid one’s self of that trouble is to end it. But as for your help, you wish for them to be able to roam here?” Emerald nodded and said that they would be repaid for any foods they ate. “They only eat a certain flower and bush, I’m to understand.”
“Yes, it’s called a moonstone flower, the bush, it’s the same.” Fairaday told her that none grew in this area. “Yes, I’ve been made aware of that too. My dragons, they have the seeds for you to use. And since it is for their own use, they’ll care for the bushes as well. I’m not sure that you would enjoy such a flower…they’re very bitter and rather large. But should your kind wish, they’re there for you as well. They have properties in them that might benefit some of them when they are breeding.”
“I will have to see. Thank you for the information, my lady.” Fairaday was a beautiful being with a kind heart, and her magic shone around her like a halo. When she turned to look out over her forest, so did Emerald. “I have been here for only a short time, but there is little that needs my attention as it did in the city. I think that I like that. It is a big area, and I can tend to a great many more trees than I did before. With the help of your kind, I think we could expand things a little past what I was working on. Thank you for that.”
“The Crosbys, they told me that you were here at your own request. You couldn’t do better, my lady.” Fairaday looked at her. “I promise you, should there be a need for the dragons in war or just a show of force, I will give you as much notice as I can. And I would ask that should you find some strangers on your land, that you do the same for me. There are men looking for me.”
“I am aware of that. They do not know yet what you are, do they?” She said that they didn’t. “There is a man and his breeding wife in town. They only just arrived today. She is large with child, but is happy. The man, he is very stressed. His footsteps are hard and mighty.”
She wondered who it might be, but knew that it would be someone after her. The fact that he had a breeding woman might just be a ploy. She would have to look into it.
“Thank you.” Princess Fairaday nodded and stood up. “If you should need anything from me, you have only to tell the earth. We have an understanding as well.”
“Queen Kilian, she has told me that you are going to be very helpful to our realms. That we were to afford you everything that we have to help you keep the Crosbys safe. They are family to her.” Emerald hadn’t heard that, only that they had helped the queen long ago. “You need anything, my lady, you have only to whistle for Spud. He is connected to all things, and to me.”
Making her way back to the house, she thought again about the man and his wife that were in town. It could be nothing more than a person on a vacation, but she thought not. Her way to find out was to confront the people, tell them to go away and to not return. Perhaps even to scare them a bit. But with a family, a large family like she had mated to now, she supposed that she would just wait on the stranger to come to her, if he would. But that didn’t mean that she’d not keep a close eye on him. Emerald called for her companion for these thousands of years, Soto, her only dragon friend.
Sunshine had come to her just yesterday and asked to be her companion. She’d told her that she’d have to work with her own helper, Soto, and Sunshine had told her that she must ask the queen. While dragons and faeries did work well together, Soto was an ice dragon and Sunshine was a woodland faerie. Not a usual pairing for two such creatures, but if they could work it out, she would be glad for the extra help.
“My lady, I was coming to see you this day.” She waited for Soto to tell her what he needed. “I have spoken around, and there is a man and his wife here asking about you. Not you directly, but a woman new to town. No one is talking; I didn’t even have to do anything so that they’d not. I like that, I must say. Using magic to hide you from their thoughts, it can be exhausting.”
“I would think that was the doings of the Crosbys. They’re very well received in this town. What else do you know?” He told her what he’d already heard from Fairaday. “You will keep me, as well as the queen and princess, informed if they get into trouble here. I mean, trouble with us. Lady Fairaday has said she will do the same for us.”
“I will do that, my lady. If you do not mind me saying so, the man, he will not last very long because he is most stressed. I can feel his illness when I am near him. He tries very hard to hide it from his lady wife, but she too is stressed, and this is not good for the child.” This too had been told to her, but Soto was even more concerned than Fairaday had been. “I am keeping a good eye on him. More than the woman for now. She is worried about her mate, but is having a good time as well. She is buying local items at the stores.”
“What would you do, Soto, if you were me?” It was a question that she had put to him many times over the years. “I do not want to cause any trouble for the family, but I fear with this stranger being in town, that he is part of the people looking for me.”
“I would ask your mate, my lady. He is a good man. I have yet to meet him, but I have heard that he has a good head on his shoulders for one so young. But as I have said, I have yet to meet him.” There was a tone there, but she chose to ignore it for now. “Also, the dragons have arrived. They are being put to work in th
e valley not far from here. There is a great deal of scrub that needed cleaning. And after asking permission from the lady there, she has asked that we leave the smaller trees for her. And the seeds have been stored away for use come summer. With the fields cleared, we can begin planting as soon as the snow has melted.”
“Good. Keep them working. And we have permission to plant what they eat as well. The princess may need them to clear some of her own area as well.” He said that he’d see to it. “Soto, you don’t need my permission to introduce yourself to my mate. He is accepting of a great many things, and you will be as welcome as myself.”
“I do not like to presume anything, my lady.” She had to hide a grin; he was always presuming that he knew more than her and that his ideas were the best. “But since you have been remiss in making sure that I am known, I will do so myself. To the rest of the family as well, if it would please you.”
“Yes, it would please me greatly.” He moved off her shoulder but didn’t leave. “There is more? What do you need from me?”
“I have nothing more, but I would like to say that I have never seen you glowing so nicely. I think it is you having a mate, but I think you are also no longer worried. Well, not as much anyway.” She told him that she was happy and still stressed, but had someone to talk to that was a part of her. “You think that I am not a part of you?”
“Not the same, no. You are my friend and have been for so very long. You know me too well. But Chase, he is new to me and my ways, and when I pace, he doesn’t pester me with questions as you do.” He said that he was helping. “Yes, well, his form of helping me is to let me pace. I think the two of you will get along nicely.”
When he was gone, she reached out to Chase and let him know what had happened with the princess. Chase told her that he’d make sure to look for the little dragon, and that he was glad that she’d spoken to the queen as well. He told her that he was busy working with his brother, and making sure that he was getting the best agreement on his new purchases.
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