to help people, and being a nurse allows
me to help many, many people.”
“I see,” Jared said, chewing on the end
of his fountain pen thoughtfully as he read
over the paper in front of him. “For
someone so young, your résumé is
spectacular.”
Maralee started when Nash took her
hand and began to kiss her fingers with
more passion and noise than was entirely
necessary.
“Nash,” she whispered, drawing her
hand away. “Not here.”
Jared was watching them, entirely
distracted from interviewing the young
nurse across the table from him.
“Then where?” Nash murmured,
leaning closer to kiss her neck. “Here?”
“You know that’s not what I meant,”
she said, trying to feel exasperated with
him, but wishing that they were alone so
she didn’t feel compelled to stop him.
“I only have two years of experience,”
Miss Jewel entered, trying valiantly to
regain the doctor’s attention, “but my
references are excellent and I’m a hard
worker. I really care about my patients.
All of them.”
“That makes the job more difficult,
you know,” Jared said, drawing his gaze
from the couple at the next table to look at
her.
She nodded in agreement. “But it’s the
only way I know how to work.”
Jared smiled, and Maralee noticed the
nurse flush. She took a moment to examine
the young woman. Miss Jewel was quite
lovely, in a meek sort of way, with large
brown eyes and hair of the same shade.
She was especially adorable when she
blushed, which she did whenever Jared
paid her any attention. He seemed
oblivious to her reaction.
“I’m the same way,” he admitted. “I
guess we’d make a fine team of
emotionally
involved
health
care
providers.”
Miss Jewel smiled, her small mouth
curving upward with pleasure. “Does this
mean I’m hired?”
“Can you start tomorrow?” he asked,
extending his hand to shake hers. “I’m
really short-handed.”
She hesitated before she placed her
fingertips in his hand. “I can start today,”
she said, looking pleased with herself and
even more pleased to be employed by Dr.
Jared Sabin.
“Excellent,” he said. “You’ll join us
for breakfast I hope.”
Miss Jewel blushed. “I don’t want to
intrude.”
“I insist,” Jared said.
The young woman hesitated, and then
nodded.
His obligations fulfilled, Jared’s
attention turned at once to Maralee and her
newly identified, mysterious husband who
had a keenly intelligent dog named after
him. Jared rose from the table and moved
to sit across from Nash. Miss Jewel rose
slowly and seated herself beside Jared,
looking out of place. Maralee offered her
a friendly smile.
“So, Miss Jewel, wasn’t it?” Maralee
worked at breaking the ice.
Miss Jewel glanced up from the hand
she was staring at. “My first name is
Emerald, but you can call me Emma,” she
insisted, her eyes darting from one
stranger to the next.
Emerald
Jewel? Maralee bit her
lower lip. It wasn’t as if the poor thing
had named herself.
Emma
reminded
Maralee
of
a
frightened, little bird and imagined her
heart must be beating in her chest like
fluttering wings.
“Emma,” Maralee started over. “Are
you from Sarbough originally?”
“No, I’m from Relwood,” she said.
“Pleasant town. I was there the month
before last,” Maralee said, happy to find
some common ground and a safe topic.
“I know,” she murmured nervously. “I
saw that pile of Wolves you killed.”
“Oh,” Maralee gasped and glanced
anxiously at Nash. Not so safe, after all. A
muscle was twitching in Nash’s jaw, but
he
seemed
to
be
ignoring
their
conversation. He was more intent on
winning the glaring contest between
himself and Jared.
“The need for medical care has
declined in Relwood since the threat of
Wolves has diminished, so I decided that
it would be a good idea to try to find a
position
with
Dr.
Sabin,”
Emma
explained.
“A whole pile of Wolves, huh?” Jared
asked.
“Not so many,” Maralee insisted.
Emma looked as if she wanted to say
something further, but she decided against
it.
“So,” Jared said, still glaring at Nash
who was glaring at him. “How long have
the two of you been married?”
Maralee and Nash exchanged glances.
“We’re not actually married,” Maralee
admitted. “Yet.”
“Is he the one who left you so
brokenhearted?” Jared asked her bluntly.
Maralee lowered her eyes and nodded
tersely.
“Do you know how many times she
cried over you?” Jared berated Nash.
“It’s none of your business,” Nash
said.
“I was the one who dried her tears and
comforted her,” Jared said, “therefore, it
is my business.”
Nash’s golden eyes narrowed and he
made a sound as close to a growl as a
human could produce.
“Not here, Nash,” Maralee warned.
Jared was appraising Nash more
carefully now, as if he suddenly
recognized something in him. “You seem
familiar,” he said. “Have we met
somewhere?”
Nash was tense in his chair. He
seemed about ready to spring across the
table. Maralee took his hand to try to calm
him. He clung to her fingers and took a
deep breath.
“I don’t think so,” Nash said
guardedly.
Jared examined him for a moment
longer before he turned his attention to
Maralee. “So where is that miraculous
dog of yours?” he asked. “I’d like to
challenge him to a rematch sometime.”
“Rematch?” Emma asked.
Jared looked at his new employee and
smiled. Emma flushed. “Maralee has a
dog that plays chess.”
“Not really,” Emma gasped, turning
her questioning gaze to Maralee.
“She sold him to a circus,” Nash said.
“Isn’t that where you said he belonged?”
“You sold him?” Jared aske
d Maralee,
obviously surprised.
“No, I didn’t sell him,” Maralee
insisted. “He’s waiting at home.”
Phyllis burst into the dining room.
“Breakfast is served,” she said cheerily.
The innkeeper’s wife smiled at Jared,
Emma and Maralee but scowled darkly at
Nash.
He pretended not to notice, but
Maralee couldn’t ignore the way everyone
seemed to be treating him so rudely. She
lifted the hand she was holding beneath
the table to rest on its surface in plain
sight of everyone present. She stroked his
fingers lovingly, smiling at him when he
gave her a questioning look.
“We should hurry to finish our
shopping,” she said, just loud enough for
the others to hear. “I’m looking forward to
getting you alone upstairs.”
He looked surprised that she had
uttered those words in front of polite
company. He glanced at Jared and
grinned, before turning his head to stare
deeply into her eyes. “We can go upstairs
now, if you’d like.”
Jared paled. Emma flushed. Phyllis
made a sound of disbelief.
“I do love you, Nash,” she murmured
to him, letting it show in her dreamy eyes
so no one would mistake her feelings. She
wanted them to see what she saw when
she looked at him, though it was probably
impossible for anyone to see him the way
she did. He smiled at her and touched her
face.
“You know I don’t give a damn what
these people think of me,” he said.
Jared flushed. Emma paled. Phyllis
made another sound of disbelief.
“You’re more forgiving than I am,”
she reminded him.
“Uh, Emma,” Jared murmured, tearing
his gaze from the scene Maralee and Nash
were making. “Where did you go to
school?”
Emma was a bit too eager to answer
his question. She seemed glad to be given
a reason to ignore the passionate, loving
couple across the table.
Nash winked at Maralee and turned
his attention to his breakfast. He didn’t
much care for the thick, creamy porridge
but he ate it with vigor. Maralee’s
appetite was entirely lacking. She couldn’t
help but think Nash had been right when
he’d said they didn’t fit anywhere. It was
obvious that they didn’t fit here. I’ll find a
place for us, she promised herself. No
matter what it takes.
CHAPTER 41
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay the
night at the inn?” Nash asked Maralee for
the third time since they had left the
mercantile.
“I’m sure,” she insisted. “I’m eager to
get home.”
He paused in the middle of the street,
heedless of an approaching sleigh.
“Because you’re ashamed of me?”
Her eyes widened. How could he even
think such a thing? She took his arm and
pulled him safely out of the street, before
looking up at him.
“Of course I’m not ashamed of you,”
she said. “I’m ashamed…I’m ashamed of
everyone else. I can’t stand the way they
treat you.”
He shrugged. “It’s always been that
way, Maralee. They just notice me more
when you’re with me. I’m not as good at
blending into the shadows with you at my
side.”
“That’s just it, Nash. You shouldn’t
have to blend into the shadows. It’s not
like you’re some kind of a monster or
something.”
He surprised her by laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asked him
angrily. She was being serious.
“I just remember someone calling me
that once,” he murmured, running his
knuckle down her nose.
“Who?” she blurted, before covering
her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry. I
didn’t really mean what I said to you that
day. I was just so shocked. Looking back,
I can’t figure out why I didn’t realize that
you were…well...what you are.”
“And what am I, Maralee?” he asked,
no longer sure himself.
“A wonderful man,” she told him.
“Mine.”
“Yours?” he challenged.
She faltered. “You are, aren’t you?”
“I’m not sure. I thought I might take
you to the inn and show you, but you don’t
seem interested.”
“It’s not that,” she insisted. “I just
want to go home.”
He watched her avoid his eyes for a
long moment, oblivious to the passing
traffic and the stares they were drawing
from interested passersby. “I understand,”
he murmured finally and started walking
back towards the woods.
Maralee hurried to catch up with him.
“Nash?” she questioned when he ignored
her.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s
okay. Sometimes the only thing to do is
run away.”
“I’m not running away,” she insisted.
“I just…I just want them to see you the
way I do and when they don’t, I…I can’t
stand to look at them.”
He took her hand. “I know. I feel the
same way when we’re in my village and
my people see you as nothing more than a
threat.”
“What are we going to do, Nash?” It
seemed that everyone was against them. It
might be easier if they just gave up.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “If I
could only break the curse on my people,
then maybe I could concentrate on making
a life with you, but…”
Her hand slid into his and gripped it
tightly. He had yet to realize the last page
of the sage’s book was missing or the
reason why Maralee had been compelled
to burn it.
“I know it seems like we’ll never be
able to make our life together,” he said,
“but there has to be something in that book
to help us break the curse.”
“It’s all right if we stay like this,
Nash,” she said. “I’m happy as long as I’m
with you.”
“This isn’t what I want for you,
Maralee, for us. I need to break this curse.
My entire life has revolved around it up
until now and I don’t feel I can fight for us
until it’s gone. Does that make sense?”
She wished that she could tell him that
he was crazy, but she understood too well
what it meant to have your soul bound to
duty. She nodded, avoiding his eyes. She
didn’t care if that damned curse was ever
broken, especially if it meant that Nash
had to sacrifice himself to remove its
burden. At least she didn’t have to worry
about him dy
ing by her blade. Her father’s
sword was lost to her now. She had never
recovered it after she’d tossed it into a
snow bank on the night of the last full
moon. If she no longer possessed her
sword, then she couldn’t use it to kill him
as she did in her dreams. Right?
They entered the forest and separated
to traverse the narrow path with their
large backpacks full of wares. Maralee
followed Nash, lost in a sea of doubt. She
felt his life would have been so much
easier if they had never met. She had taken
his brother from him. She was a wedge in
his close-knit family. Her book revealed
to him he wasn’t full Wolf. Her dreams
prophesied his death. She forced him to
try to be something he wasn’t by making
him mingle with humans. How could he
think of her with anything but animosity?
She was still brooding when they
arrived at the village. It was nearly dark
when they entered the cabin and began to
unpack their purchases. The silence
between
them
was
heavy
and
uncomfortable,
but
neither
seemed
obligated to break it. After everything had
been put away, they stood silently in the
dark kitchen across from each other, both
burdened by their thoughts. Neither one
wanted to bring up the possibility that no
matter how good or perfect it felt when
they were together, it just wasn’t meant to
be.
“I’ll go light a fire,” Nash said finally.
“I’ll start supper.”
He turned to leave the room and
Maralee couldn’t seem to stop herself
from racing towards him and catching him
from behind in an embrace.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked.
He shook his head, lifting his hands to
covers hers which were interlocked
around his waist.
“Are we doing the right thing?” she
asked. It was a question that she didn’t
want him to answer truthfully.
“What do you mean?”
“You and me together. Is it… right?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I feel
right when I’m with you but…”
“But not when anyone else is there,”
she finished, for her feelings mirrored his.
“It’s not fair,” he murmured. “Why
should it matter what other people think?”
“It doesn’t,” she said, but she knew
that wasn’t entirely true. It did matter that
others looked at them and thought what
they had together was anything but perfect.
“I should go…talk to Rella.”
“Tomorrow,” she urged. “Tonight it
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