by Leah Ross
Entering the room, Guinn stopped short, surprised to see Joran already occupying a plush chair. He turned to leave, to allow Laria’s father some privacy, but the man welcomed him in with a wave of his hand.
“Good morning, Guinn. You can join me if you’d like.”
Guinn plopped down on a sofa, placing his book and pencil case on a nearby table. “Good morning, sir. You’re up early.”
“As are you.”
“This is usual for me,” Guinn replied. “I just can’t sleep with my mind full.”
“Hence the journal.” Guinn nodded. Joran held out his hand. “May I?” Guinn handed his book over. Joran flipped through, lingering on many of the drawings and scrutinizing the calculations. His brows rose and he smiled. “This is a lot of work. You’ve spent a lot of time on it.”
“Some would say too much time.”
“It takes considerable time and effort to work out one’s master plan.”
Guinn nodded. “And with only a few short months left until I need to start implementing these plans, I’m nearly out of time.”
“You’ll get there, son. You’re practically there already.” Joran handed the journal back.
“I’m afraid it’s not much to look at.”
“Nonsense! Your schematics are well planned, and your calculations look sound. Your illustrations are even well grounded in contemporary ship design. One might think you had an academic background in this field.”
“It’s all from books, sir.” Guinn cocked his head with curiosity. “You sound fairly knowledgeable about it yourself.”
“I do have a formal education in the subject.” Joran smiled. At Guinn’s puzzled expression, he continued, “I had dreams and ambitions once too, you know. I was a shipwright before… this.” He gestured at his leg.
Guinn’s eyes widened. “I’d be greatly honored, sir, if you’d consult with me on my plans. I’m fairly confident in them, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to get advice from a licensed shipwright.”
Joran inclined his head politely. “The honor is mine. I’d love to.”
Guinn shook the man’s hand, a grin lighting his face. “Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome, son, but I’d like to discuss another matter with you at the moment, and I apologize for my forwardness.”
“Anything.”
Joran sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap, considering the young man sternly. “I wish to know your intentions regarding my daughter.”
Guinn blinked, slumping back on the sofa and staring out at the grey and pink hues creeping up from the horizon. He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t even figured that out for himself. “I intend to… marry her, sir.”
“You don’t sound sure about that.”
“It’s the first time I’ve admitted it aloud. I wasn’t sure until this moment, but I know that’s what I want. Without a doubt.”
“Do you love her?”
Guinn nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“Have you told her?”
“Not yet.”
Joran leaned forward, his intense gaze burning into Guinn’s eyes. “If you love her, tell her. Nothing is ever guaranteed; you never know if you’ll get another chance. Seize every opportunity to voice your love. Then you’ll never have to regret not doing it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Joran sat back again, apparently satisfied with Guinn’s answers. “Do you think she’ll accept you and the life you wish to pursue?”
“I…” Guinn’s brow furrowed as he contemplated the possibility of her refusal. “I hope so, sir. I can’t bear the thought of not having her in my life.”
“I’m certain you won’t have to.”
“What about you and Rienna?”
“I have never harbored any urge to chain my daughter to this place and this life. I would dearly love for Laria to go on the adventures I never had the chance to experience. Rienna…”
“Doesn’t like me, I can tell,” Guinn interrupted.
“Enna is scared. She sees in you the path to loneliness,” Joran explained. “She knows she will lose me much sooner than she’ll admit, and she’s terrified of losing Laria as well. Your entrance into our lives brings her face to face with this terror, and she’s not ready for it.”
Guinn stared at the floor, his head now full of darker contemplations. As twilight suffused the sky and the sun peeked its head above the distant line of the sea, Guinn’s hopes rose as well. Thoughts that had haunted him as he’d drifted off to sleep the night before coalesced into a plan of action.
“May I be honest with you, Joran?”
“Of course.”
“It wasn’t only this,” Guinn pointed at his journal, “that kept me from sleeping.”
“Oh?”
The younger man hesitated, wanting to make his offer as respectful as possible. “I’d like to help you, Joran. I’d like to do for you what I was unable to do for my mother.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’d like to help you get treatment for your illness. What Laria and I did for you last evening was only a tiny portion of the capability a fully trained, experienced healer can offer.”
Joran frowned. “I’ve seen healers. What can you do for me that I’ve not yet tried?”
“Have you been to Terracova to consult the top healers there?”
“Do I look to be in any condition to travel that far, Guinn?” Joran shook his head in frustration. “No, I’ve only seen the healers that come here to Callinar. This is not exactly a top destination for the elite of Annali society, son.”
“I know several top Terracovan healers, Joran. I’d like to bring someone here to see you.”
“How do you have the means to do this?” The older man looked at Guinn skeptically.
“I can afford it. Please. Let me do this for you,” Guinn pleaded.
Joran thought for several moments, then shook his head emphatically. “No, son. I can’t in good conscience ask this of you.”
“You’re not asking me. I’m offering. And I won’t take no for an answer, sir.”
“Your offer is much too generous. Why would you do this for me, for my family?”
Guinn smiled. “I love your daughter, sir. I want to spare her the heartache of watching helplessly as she loses you to something she can’t fight. I don’t want Rienna to be alone. And I want you to be able to walk Laria down the aisle at our wedding. I know Laria well enough to know that she won’t marry me until she finishes school, so you need to be around for several more years in order to give her away.”
Joran looked away for a minute, trying to compose himself. When he looked back at Guinn, his eyes shimmered with tears. “Just the fact that you want to do this for me means more than you’ll ever know, son. When can you make this happen?”
Guinn breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll send the messages out this morning, sir. I should be able to have a healer here in a few days.”
Joran clasped Guinn’s hands in his own. “Thank you, Guinn. You’re a good man.”
“I’m happy to do it, Joran. Now, let’s get to work on that ship. I want you right there with me to admire her beauty when I christen her.”
Joran beamed. “Too bloody right!”
~*~
Laria found Guinn in the study, bent over his writing at the desk. She went up to him and slid her arms around his neck. “What are you working on?”
Flipping his sealed letter over, he held up a finger. “Hang on. Don’t go anywhere.” With his bold, neat handwriting, he addressed the letter and added it to the small stack in front of him. Then he sat back and stretched.
“What are you up to?” she asked warily.
“Just some business correspondence. Important, but nothing to concern yourself over.” He grabbed the letters, slid them into the inside pocket of his overcoat, and put the coat on. “I need to post these right away, and I’m hungry. Want to escort me into town?”
She grinned. “I’d love to.”
The sun shone brightly through the cold nield air and their boots crunched on the frozen ground as they strolled into town. The post office was empty when they walked in, except for the middle-aged woman behind the counter. She jumped up when she saw Laria and came around the counter to wrap the girl in a hug.
“Laria Brookes! I was wondering if we’d see you around here for your term break. It’s good to see you dear!”
“Good morning, Charlotte. It’s good to see you too.”
Charlotte’s gaze slid to Guinn, her eyes roving the length of his body solicitously. “And who might this be?”
Guinn stuck out his hand to interrupt her awkward ogling. “Guinn McCabe. I’m… hers.” He didn’t know what to call himself in relation to Laria anymore.
Laria giggled. Charlotte winked at him. “No need to explain. I’d stake my claim in a heartbeat on such a handsome rogue as you too.” She resumed her position behind the counter once more. “Now, how can I help you?”
Guinn laid his letters in front of her. “I need these posted immediately, please.”
She glanced at the addresses. “Instant post to Terracova is expensive.”
“I know, but I need them there now,” he said. “And please charge me for instant return as well.”
Raising an eyebrow at him, she asked, “Where are you staying?”
“With the Brookes’.”
“Will you need forwarding service in case anyone can’t reply right away?”
He shook his head. “Not much use to me if they can’t respond immediately.”
“All right.” They settled the payment and Charlotte placed the letters in a box to her right, from which the letters vanished instantly. “All set,” she said. “Any replies will come to you directly at the Brookes residence.”
Guinn smiled. “Thank you. Will you still be open this afternoon if I need to post any more messages?”
“Until sundown, handsome.”
Laria grabbed Guinn’s arm and pulled him out the door with a wave to Charlotte. “Thanks, Charlotte!” Outside, she succumbed to a fit of giggles. “I thought I was going to have to rescue you from being abducted!”
He laughed. “I suppose now the whole town will know about me.”
“You can count on that!” she said. “They’ll know all about how devastatingly handsome you are too.”
The corner of his lips lifted in a rakish half-smile as he pulled her against him. “You think I’m handsome?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Of course I do.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” He tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck and kissed her hard. When he released her, her cheeks were pink, her lips deliciously swollen, and she fought to regain her breath. Seeing her in such a state did things to Guinn’s body that he had no business thinking about in a public place.
Tucking her into his side, they started toward one of the nearby cafés. “Now I’m hungry for more than just food,” he murmured in her ear. A shiver raced up her spine at the warmth of his breath against her neck and the irresistible husky edge to his voice. “Let’s see what we can do about the food part now, and we can discuss the rest of it later.”
~*~
After a leisurely lunch, Laria had taken Guinn down the long stairway to the beach below the cliff. They sat on the sun-warmed sand, her snuggled into the heat of his body, him behind with his arms tight around her. The breeze was cold off the water, and clouds gathered in the distance. Nightfall would bring with it a nasty storm.
“You never told me about your parents,” she said, voicing her nagging thoughts.
“It’s not exactly a topic one brings up in polite conversation,” he replied.
“What happened?”
He sighed. “My father was accidentally killed by an unbroken nymeran stallion while inspecting a tenant’s property. He was trampled. Thankfully, he didn’t suffer.”
“You saw it?” she whispered, horrified.
“No. But I was there. The look of terror on his face will haunt me forever.”
Her lips grazed the back of his hand. “That’s awful.”
“My mother fell ill shortly after I was born. She suffered for years, wasting away until her body finally gave out a few months after I graduated from secondary school.”
“How did you ever deal with that?”
“Not well, at first. After settling my affairs in Eritaea, I spent several months in Terracova doing anything I could to forget. I was drunk almost every night, sleeping around, wasting time and money. I had nothing to live for, and I nearly lost myself in that downward spiral to hell. I’m not proud of those months; I dearly wish I could erase them.”
Laria turned and wrapped her arms around him, offering him her strength.
He kissed the top of her head. “In my lowest moment, passed out in a drunken stupor in some filthy alley, I dreamed of my mother. She accused me of forsaking everything I was and deemed me unworthy of fulfilling her dying wish.” He drew a shaky breath. “It broke me. Utterly and completely. I awoke crying as I never had before. I dropped it all that moment, cleaned myself up, and enrolled at Holystorm. I hired an accountant to manage my finances and dove into my plans. I will never, never allow myself to lose control like that again.”
He looked down to see her head buried in his chest and her shoulders shaking slightly. Then a sob wracked her body, and he realized she was crying. Lifting her chin, he kissed her softly. “What’s wrong?”
“What if that happens to me?” she whispered.
He smiled and squeezed her tightly. “It won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“You’re stronger than I am,” he said without hesitation. “And I’m here to pull you back from the edge if you even get close to it.” He stroked her hair. “I love you, Laria,” he whispered in her ear.
She gasped and pulled back suddenly to look at him with wide eyes, unsure she’d actually heard him correctly. Any man who loves you will do so unconditionally, but he will be destroyed by it. A shaky breath left her as the words reached out from the back of her mind and taunted her. “What did you say?”
He stroked a tear from her cheek. “I love you.”
She sat there and stared at him for several long moments, at war with herself over what she should do. Then Neia’s advice also came back to her, and she knew she was powerless to stop anything. She’d already fallen, and no curse was going to frighten her away. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him over and over. When she came up for air, she gazed directly into his stormy grey eyes. “I love you too, Guinn McCabe.”
~*~
True to his word, two days after sending his messages to Terracova, a visitor called on Guinn at the Brookes residence. He was welcomed in and shown to the living room, but Guinn didn’t miss the wariness that crossed Rienna’s face or the confusion playing across Laria’s.
At the look Laria saw exchanged between Guinn and Joran, she asked, “Guinn, what’s going on?”
“I’d like to introduce Dr. Christopher Walsh of the Terracova Specialized Treatment Center. He’s a licensed pathologist, an advanced healer, and a personal friend of mine. I’ve asked him to come assess Joran’s condition and hopefully administer treatment.”
Joran stepped forward. “Welcome, Dr. Walsh. Thank you for coming.”
As Rienna helped her husband get situated and Dr. Walsh prepared for the examination, Laria pulled Guinn aside. “Is this what those letters were about?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to do it, Laria. I can’t let you suffer the same heartache I endured. If I can help right this injustice, perhaps I can find a small measure of solace from my guilt over my mother’s death.”
She stroked her thumb over his cheek. “You know, she wouldn’t want you to continue to torture yourself over this.”
“I know,” he said. “But that doesn’t make the hurt go away.”
She kis
sed him and went to join her family.
After a thorough examination and questioning, everyone sat to hear Dr. Walsh’s diagnosis. “I have seen a few cases of this illness over the course of my career,” he said. “Mr. Brookes’ condition has reached a more advanced stage than I have treated in the past. If allowed to continue with the current treatment method, I’m afraid it will be terminal.”
“Do you have a more effective treatment in mind, Doctor?” Guinn asked.
“I do. I am confident that Mr. Brookes will respond well to it, and with an intensive treatment program he can be cured.”
“And how long do you anticipate this intensive program will take?”
“About two weeks,” Dr. Walsh replied. “I would want to conduct follow up visits every three months for a year, and then annually after that.”
Guinn nodded. “Let’s get started.”
“Wait, wait,” Joran interjected. “Exactly how much will this treatment cost?”
“Don’t worry about it, sir,” Guinn answered.
“How much?” Joran’s question was directed at Dr. Walsh, but his frown rested solely on Guinn.
Dr. Walsh glanced between the two men, sensing their tension. “I’m afraid it’s quite expensive. This disease tends to be so deadly simply because most patients cannot afford the cure.”
Laria rested her hand on Guinn’s arm. “Are you sure you want to do this, Guinn?”
Rienna chimed in, “We couldn’t possibly accept such a debt on your behalf.”
Then from Joran, “I agreed to be seen by your healer, Guinn, but I had no idea what kind of burden this would place on you.”
“You didn’t tell them about this part of the arrangement, I gather,” said Dr. Walsh.
Guinn stood in silent determination, hands fisted at his sides. “You all are under the impression that cost is a factor in this scenario. I assure you, it is not! Dr. Walsh and I have already made arrangements for payment, and I have already set aside the necessary funds. I will not waste any more time justifying my reasons for doing this, and I will absolutely not entertain any discussion on reimbursement. The deal is done. Now, I would like to get this process underway so Joran doesn’t have to suffer any longer.”