“Of course,” Heather said. “What did you decide to do about the Fires of Hell?”
“We thought we’d go up there,” Delphie said. “Would you like to go?”
“Sure,” Heather said. “I’d like to check in with Wyn first. Where is he?”
“Who?” Delphie asked. She gave Heather a confused blink.
Heather’s hand went to her heart. Her eyes welled with tears.
“My . . .” Heather started.
Delphie laughed.
“You are so mean!” Abi said. “He’s right here.”
Abi gestured to where Wyn was sleeping with her baby. Heather let out a heavy breath. She fell forward and rested her hands on her knees.
“Are you okay?” Delphie asked.
“Just . . . a long day,” Heather said. “Eros was with me — you know, in the past.”
“That’s odd,” Delphie said.
“It was his present,” Heather said. “We crossed timelines. In fact, I think he did something to Blane’s father.”
“What do you mean?” Abi asked.
“Blane’s father seemed exhausted,” Heather said. “He wasn’t angry; at least he didn’t seem angry, until Eros shot him. Twice.”
“That’s odd,” Abi said.
“Do you know my father?” Heather asked.
Abi gave Heather a distracted nod.
“You’re saying that Blane’s father wasn’t enraged when he got to the apartment?” Delphie asked.
“He seemed tired,” Heather said. “Really tired. Like he hadn’t slept in days.”
“The neighbor said that he broke the screen door and started hitting her the moment he walked through the front door,” Delphie said.
“Eros shot him as he went up the steps,” Heather said. “He shot him once, and nothing seemed to happen. Then Eros shot him again. It was like something out of a cartoon. Suddenly Blane’s father woke up, and smoke was coming out of his ears. I mean, I think he was capable of doing what he did. I just don’t think he would have done it then.”
Delphie weaved. Heather got her into a chair before she fell.
“What is it?” Heather asked.
“I thought . . .” Delphie said. She looked at Heather and then Abi. “I thought it was my fault. I just saw the love and not his rage. I . . . thought I . . . may as well have killed her myself.”
“It was Eros,” Heather said. “He saw my interest in the man and shot him.”
Heather’s face pinched.
“So, really, it’s my fault,” Heather said. “He was mad at me. He was trying to get back at me for not telling him where Mom was. Eros shot the man, and the man . . . killed Blane’s mother. And I . . .”
Delphie put her hand on Heather’s arm.
“I told her where the gun was,” Heather whispered. “She killed him, and . . .”
“She died because of the beating he’d given her,” Abi said. “But you’re saying that Eros started this?”
Heather’s head went up and down in a nod.
“He would say that it’s his right as a god,” Heather said.
“You mean he’s done this before?” Abi asked.
Heather nodded.
“Why?” Heather asked.
“It’s enough to get him permanent retirement,” Abi said.
“That’s why Aphrodite’s been working so hard to clean up his mess,” Heather said.
“Aphrodite knows about this?” Abi asked.
“She says she’s feels guilty,” Heather said with a nod. “But if her precious son might lose his gifts and his place in court . . . well, that explains things.”
“You should think about whether you want his role for all eternity, Heather,” Abi said. “If you’re willing, I’ll tell Gilfand about Eros. You may need to show him, but Gilfand won’t put up with this kind of behavior. We are not to intervene!”
“Be the Goddess of Love forever?” Heather asked.
“You don’t have to decide today,” Abi said. “Just think about it.”
Heather nodded.
“When do we leave for Leadville?” Heather asked.
“Not today,” Delphie said. “Seems like we’ve all had a shock. Why don’t you head home to rest? We’ll go later.”
“You’re sure?” Heather asked.
“Of course,” Delphie said.
Nodding, Heather picked up Wyn and left without saying good bye. She had closed the Castle side door when Delphie looked at Abi.
“What are you thinking?” Delphie asked.
“I’m not sure what to think,” Abi said.
“Do you believe her?” Delphie asked.
“Of course,” Abi said. “I’m surprised you’d even ask!”
“Oh, yes,” Delphie nodded. “I just . . . It’s almost too horrible to think.”
“That Eros did this to people?” Abi asked. “Or that he did it in response to being angry with her?”
Delphie nodded.
“I’m not sure how she survived all of this,” Abi said.
“I’m glad she did,” Delphie said. “Heather is my friend. She’s done tremendous things for our family. And . . .”
Delphie scowled.
“The entire thing is weird,” Abi said.
Delphie nodded.
“Makes me want to look into what the hell was really going on with Eros and Psyche,” Delphie said.
“Aphrodite,” Abi said.
Delphie nodded. The women fell silent as they thought their own thoughts.
“Well,” Delphie said with a nod. “Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is our name ceremony,” Abi said.
“That’s what I meant,” Delphie said with a smile. “What do we need for tomorrow?”
Abi sent a worried look after Heather and turned her attention to Delphie and the party ahead of them.
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday afternoon — 2:04 p.m.
“I need to speak with you,” Heather said as Blane came out of his treatment room.
“Okay,” Blane said.
He was carrying a shallow tray filled with the glass globes he used for cupping. He nodded toward the kitchen. Agitated, Heather followed right behind him. He went to the sink and filled it with warm water and soap.
“What’s going on?” Blane asked.
He began setting the globes into the warm, soapy water. Heather was so close to him that he brushed her with his elbow. He gave her a questioning look.
“Sorry,” Heather said. She took a step back.
“You seem really . . . revved up,” Blane said.
“I have to tell you something,” Heather said.
“Okay,” Blane said.
“Do you have someone right now?” Heather asked.
“Are you asking if someone’s in there right now?” Blane asked. She nodded. “I have just set the needles in Jeraine. I’m sure he won’t mind if he needs to move.”
“How long does he have?” Heather asked.
Blane shook his head and shrugged. Heather gave him a frustrated sigh. He held up his hands.
“Listen,” Blane said. “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out. You don’t need to be all . . .”
“Oh,” Heather said. “I didn’t realize I was so . . .”
“Yes,” Blane said. “Entire populations of sunflowers have died with the venting of Hedone’s agitated sigh.”
Heather grinned at him. He smiled at her.
“Talk to me while I wash these,” Blane said.
“How about if I wash these, and you can hold Wyn?” Heather asked.
“Now that’s a proposition I’m never going to turn down,” Blane said. “Plus, you’re better at globe washing.”
He took Wyn from the sling and carried his son to the counter. He pulled out a chair and sat down. Heather turned her back to him and started washing the globes.
“What did you need to talk to me about?” Blane asked.
“I found out who took you to the hospital,” Heather said. “You know when your fat
her killed your mother.”
“Oh?” Blane asked. “Who?”
“I did,” Heather said.
She turned around to gauge his reaction. He shrugged.
“Okay,” Blane said.
“Okay?” Heather asked. “What? I just told you . . . and you . . .”
He gave her another shrug.
“I don’t know,” Blane said. “I guess I’d always figured you did.”
“Always?” Heather asked. Her voice reflected her anxiety and angst.
“Well, since we learned who my father was and how he recreationally killed babies,” Blane said, “I guess I thought, ‘Oh, I bet Hedone did this.’”
“I did,” Heather said.
“Good,” Blane said with a smile. “Then I know it was done out of a place of pure love.”
“But I might have made the soul-mate thing that goes on between us,” Heather said.
She explained what had happened. But he just shrugged again.
“I don’t really get why you’re so calm about all of this!” Heather said.
“Calm?” Blane asked. “The love of my life saved me from being killed by my father. Why should that surprise me? If you could save me, you would have, of course.”
Heather shook her head and looked at him.
“What?” he asked. “Why are you so upset?”
“Because I . . . we . . . it’s not right!” Heather said.
“What’s not right?” Blane asked.
“I made this happen!” Heather said.
“You’re upset because you created a link between me and you,” Blane said. “That link created our home, our family. I got to be the father of our children. I got to participate in adopting Tink. Through you, I even got great stem cells, which have saved my life. That’s not to mention that you dragged me through Hep C treatment.”
“I would have done that,” Heather said, “no matter what.”
Blane raised his eyebrows at her.
“What?” she asked.
“Is there actually something here?” Blane asked. “Because it seems to me that you’re worked up over having saved my life. You saved my life by rescuing me from my father and then again when I was an adult. You’ve made my life wonderful. I don’t have anything to be angry about. No.”
Blane shook his head.
“What is all of this about?” Blane asked.
“I was there, you know, under the stairs at your mother’s apartment,” Heather said. “And Eros showed up. He . . .”
“Eros has something to do with this?” Blane asked.
“He shot your father twice with arrows,” Heather said. “Your dad went from exhausted to enraged after the second arrow.”
Blane didn’t say anything.
“Talk to me!” Heather said. “I have to know . . .”
“Your dad’s a dick,” Blane said with a shrug.
“What?”
Blane shrugged again.
“Listen, I have everything I ever wanted in my life,” Blane said. “God willing, I will have it for the rest of my life. Why would I want to change anything in the past? I’d just make it harder to be right here. And I really like right here.”
Heather grinned and set the last globe on the drying rack.
“I should get back,” Blane said.
Heather nodded and took Wyn from him. They watched Blane leave the kitchen.
“I guess that’s that,” Heather said to Wyn.
The baby made a sound in agreement. Shrugging, Heather went to give Wyn a bath.
Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty
How do you feel?
Monday evening — 7:23 p.m.
“Oh, great,” Jacob said when he opened the loft door to Blane. “Thanks for coming.”
“Are you sure about this?” Blane asked. They clasped each other in a fond manly greeting. “The wedding is on Sunday. You don’t think she’ll see it before then?”
“She might,” Jacob said. “Is there a rule about that?”
Blane stood just inside the doorway for a moment.
“Not that I know of,” Blane said, closing the loft door. “But then again, I’m not having a large, traditional, straight wedding.”
Jacob laughed. Blane followed him through the bedroom and into the bathroom. Jacob picked up a metal chair and pointed to the other. Blane picked up the second chair. They carried the chairs through the loft, into Jacob’s old apartment, down the stairs, and into the basement storage room, where the metal table already sat.
“Where is everyone?” Blane asked.
“Doing wedding stuff,” Jacob said. “Jill and Katy are trying on their dresses for the very last time.”
“Does Katy get to see her like-Mommy dress?” Blane asked.
“Not until Sunday,” Jacob said. He gestured up the stairs, and Blane started up. “She’s checking the not-quite-like-Mommy’s tonight. Katy’s decided to be very brave.”
“She’s a special girl,” Blane said.
“The boys are visiting with their cousins at Jill’s brother Steve’s house,” Jacob said. “Sandy’s with Jill, of course, and so are Aden’s kids. Aden went back to work. He has a lot to finish up before they leave for a week.”
“Are you and Jill going on a honeymoon?” Blane asked.
“Just the few days we’ll all be together,” Jacob said. “Jill wants to finish this quarter at school before we take time off. We’ll probably go somewhere this fall. Is it still okay for you and Heather to take the boys and Katy?”
“Of course,” Blane said.
Jacob walked out onto the small porch.
“So, I’m thinking that we’ll put it right here,” Jacob said.
“How are you planning on getting it up here?” Blane asked.
“It’s already here,” Jacob said. “In pieces. In my old closet. I just wanted to show you what I was thinking.”
Blane nodded. They retraced their steps through the loft and went into Jacob’s old apartment. He opened the door to the walk-in closet. There was a stack of what looked like wood in the closet.
“We need to carry this into the bathroom,” Jacob said.
“Got it,” Blane said.
He picked up a few beautiful, blue-streaked yellow pine planks and carried them into the bathroom. Jacob followed right behind him. Blane found a gorgeous, hand-carved swing bench in the closet. Jacob picked up one side, and they carried it into the bathroom. They went back into the closet for the last of the boards.
“It’s peg and groove,” Jacob said. “Everything’s designed to fit together.”
“Does it?” Blane’s voice was laced with doubt.
“It did downstairs!” Jacob said, his voice a little defensive.
Blane clapped Jacob’s shoulder for confidence.
“Just tell me what to do, how I can help,” Blane said.
Jacob nodded. He pointed to some boards, and Blane carried them out to the empty balcony. Jacob put his hands on his hips.
“Do you think I should clean it first?” Jacob asked.
“Nah,” Blane said. “We’ll get it afterwards.”
Jacob moved the boards around. He pointed to some others, and Blane went to get them.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Blane said.
“Sure,” Jacob said. He stopped working to look at Blane.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Blane said. “You can keep working.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am,” Blane said. “I just wanted to . . .”
Jacob dropped to his knees to hook the pieces together into a triangle. Blane held them while Jacob knocked the pieces into their slots. Blane took a breath and dived in.
“Heather is the person who saved me,” Blane said.
“But we knew that,” Jacob said.
“No — I mean, as a baby,” Blane said.
Jacob looked up at Blane and blinked. He thought for a minute.
“I guess that makes sense,” Jacob said.
Blane
held the pieces together and Jacob made another triangle. He stood aside while Jacob fitted the A-frame together. Jacob used pegs to fasten the pieces into the notch. Now that these pieces were done, it was easy to see how beautiful the wood was.
“Beautiful,” Blane said.
He ran his hand along the blue tints in the wood.
“It’s that beetle kill pine,” Jacob said. “Jill likes the way it looks. I tried to pick pieces that fit together. No easy task.”
Jacob stuffed a few pegs in his mouth and continued putting it together.
“Hmpfh mft ffff?” Jacob asked.
“How do I feel?” Blane asked with a grin.
Jacob nodded and kept working.
“About being saved by Heather?” Blane asked.
Jacob nodded.
“I’m glad I was saved,” Blane said. “She said that she touched me, and that generated the bond between us. You know — since she’s a goddess now and everything.”
“Huh,” Jacob said, his mouth clear of pegs.
“At the time, I didn’t have a problem with it,” Blane said.
“Do you now?” Jacob asked.
He gestured to the wood in the bathroom, and they went back in to get a few more pieces. Jacob pointed, and Blane held up one of the A-frames.
“I don’t really have a problem with it, I guess,” Blane said.
“I mean, maybe that bond is what sustained you through everything,” Jacob said, as he attached a board at the apex of the A-frame. “Allowed you to love when you were able to love.”
“I guess . . .” Blane scowled.
“There’s more?” Jacob asked.
“Well . . .” Blane started.
“Can you hold this one too or is it too much?” Jacob asked.
“Got it.” Blane held up the top board and the second A-frame.
Jacob stuffed his mouth with pegs and set to work again.
“Well, she said that her father shot my father — you know your dad’s youngest brother — with two arrows,” Blane said. “She said that my father wasn’t really angry when he first got there. He was mostly exhausted. But Eros was mad at Heather, so he shot my father with arrows. I know that Eros would think that it was well within his prerogative as a god and everything. It just seems . . .”
Jacob looked up from his work.
“Unnatural,” Blane said finally. “I guess.”
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