Legend of the Sorcerer (14 page)

“We’ll put a narrow table alongside that wall, and cupboards over there for your supplies. You’ll have to give me the specifics of your needs in regards to worktables and the like. The bathroom will be in that corner there, with a utility sink on the opposing wall of the bathroom sink.”
He turned to her with a twinkling eyes. “What think you, my dear?”

Only because she’d spent a great deal of time when he wasn’t aware, studying him, assessing his features, for later study with ink and paper, did she see the slight pinched lines at the corners of his eyes.

But worse than that, far worse … she saw hope.

Feeling more torn than she could ever remember, she went on instinct. She walked up to him and kissed his cheek, then laid her hand over his and looked him straight in the eye.

“It’s beautiful, Alfred. It’s like something from a fairy tale, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to work here.”

“But?” His expression was one of infinite wisdom … and regret.

“I have to go home,” she said gently. “I have to start rebuilding my life. You’ve given me an immense gift by bringing me here even for such a short time.”

“Build on your dream here.” He covered her hand with his. “You get very few chances to realize a dream in this life, Jordalyn. Don’t be hasty in throwing this one away.”

“Alfred—”

“I didn’t make this offer lightly. Don’t regard it only with logic. Logic can cloud the heart. Instinct is a powerful guide most never learn to follow.” Alfred’s gaze shifted past her shoulder. “Come now, Malacai, let us not add skulking to the list your lamentable character traits of late.”

Jordy turned in time to see Cai fill the small doorway.

He looked to Alfred. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

To Jordy, Alfred said, “Instinct, my dear. It guides the heart, which in turn can teach the mind.”

Jordy nodded, then turned and stepped past Cai. They
walked to the garden. “Was that really necessary? I told you I’d handle it.”

“I know Alfred,” was all he said.

Since Alfred had been doing a pretty fine job of destroying her defenses, she had to bite down on her retort. “Why did you want to see me?”

She hadn’t seen Cai at all on her last two trips to Crystal Key. He looked tired. Instead of the frustration and sexual tension that always seemed to simmer just beneath the surface whenever they were together, she saw weariness. He looked almost … haunted.

“Are you okay?” She stepped closer. “You look terrible.” His dry smile was fleeting. He was clearly torn about something and she had a pretty good idea as to what it was.

“You’re right, you know,” she said. “Alfred does make a very convincing argument, but I’ve made some plans of my own. They don’t include staying here. You can take that off your list of things to worry about.”

“That’s just it. I don’t want you to turn him down.” She gaped. “What? What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I changed my mind. I want you to take Alfred’s offer.” He held up his hand to forestall her response. “Hear me out. I’ve given this a lot of thought. I know we agreed to go our separate ways, and that it was best for both of us not to get involved.”

“And now you’re saying … what exactly?”

“I want you to stay, for Alfred.”

“I thought it was precisely because of Alfred that you didn’t want me around.”

“You told me to look past my own problems, to do what was best for him. Maybe I wanted you gone because it would be easier for me, but maybe what’s easier isn’t what’s best.” He stepped closer. “You do want to stay, don’t you? I know you care about him.”

“I do care for him, a great deal.” She was suddenly
concerned. “Is there something wrong with him? Is he ill?” She remembered the pinched lines around his eyes, the slowness in his step. “Is that why?”

“He has been more easily fatigued lately, but it’s not only that. Maybe I was being selfish in trying to prevent him from having a meaningful relationship because I thought it would hurt him too badly in the end.” Cai moved even closer and looked down into her eyes. “He’s grown very fond of you. When you’re here with him, he … I don’t know, he seems more like his old self.”

“I don’t want to hurt him either, but just because I’m going home doesn’t mean I don’t plan on keeping in touch.”

“My thought exactly. It wouldn’t have to end completely when you leave. And I know you want to work here. Maybe I was being selfish there, too. I do understand about needing to be where you can work. You could finish the pieces Alfred wants and maybe begin others you could ship back to Virginia as a portfolio, or whatever you call it. Something to start on.”

It was too much, to be handed a dream twice.

Instinct, my dear. It guides the heart, which in turn can teach the mind
. She swallowed hard. “Just how long are we talking about?”

Cai’s relieved grin elicited a dangerous jump in her pulse rate. He might have come to terms with being around her, but she was quite certain she hadn’t.

“How long do you want?”

“I … I don’t know about this,” she hedged. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. We agreed to stay out of each other’s hair. How can we do that if I’m living here?”

Cai closed the rest of the distance between them. “I’ve given that some thought, too.”

She put her hands up and backed away. “You said we were doing this for Alfred.”

He covered her hands with his and pulled them up to his shoulders. “We are. And with everything we have going on, it would be logical for us not to confuse things further with this.” He let his mouth drop to hers and took her in a blood-stirring kiss. She was breathless when he lifted his head. “But maybe I’m letting logic cloud my instincts there, too.”

Jordy’s head was spinning. It was too much, too fast.

“But what about Alfred? What will he think about us … getting involved?”

The hands that had begun to slide down her back stilled. “I think he’d understand.”

“And when I leave? What then? I do plan to keep in touch, but I don’t want to hurt him by giving him false hopes about …” She had to swallow before she could say it. “About us. About … this.”

“This,” he repeated. “I’ve tried getting over
this
, I tried ignoring
this
. It’s not working. How about you?”

She could only shake her head.

“Then maybe we look beyond our problems on this, too. Go through it, see where it leads. You told me to let Alfred be an adult. Maybe you were right. So we’ll tell him up front, so he doesn’t get any grand ideas.”

She smiled wryly. “And here you said you knew the man. Do you honestly believe he won’t think whatever he damn well pleases?”

“We could be worrying about nothing. For all we know, we could be sick of each other inside a week.”

“Yeah, right.” Jordy snorted, then felt her face go red. “It could happen,” she muttered.

He tipped her chin. “Yeah,” he said, then took her mouth again.

They lifted their heads, only to find Alfred standing just beyond the opening in the hedgerow. Gone was his fatigue. His eyes were bright and his step more lively than it had
been in days. “I misjudged you, Malacai.” He shifted his gaze to hers. “Instincts aren’t such a terror, are they, my dear?”

Before either could speak, Dilys stepped through the hedge opening at the opposite end of the small garden. She motioned to Cai, who walked over to where she stood.

“What is it?” he asked.

“There is a delivery, at the dock. The gentleman will take only your signature.”

C
ai felt his stomach drop. “I’ll be right there,” he said. He turned to Jordy. “Why don’t you and Alfred finish discussing your plans for the cottage, then come up to the house. Dilys will show you to your room. We can make the rest of the arrangements at tea.”

Jordy frowned. “What’s wrong?”

He held her gaze, silently telegraphing her to let this drop while Alfred stood so near. “I have to go take care of something. I’ll see you at the house later.”

“Wait, I want to go with you.”

“Jordy—” But he could see from the stubborn set of her jaw that she wasn’t going to be left behind.

She turned to Alfred and Dilys. “I need to talk to Cai. Why don’t I meet you back at the house? We can finish discussing this there. Is that okay?”

Cai swore silently as Alfred’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity. He looked from Cai to Jordy, then smiled benevolently. “You’ve spent more than enough time humoring this old man,” he said, eyes twinkling. “Dilys and I will be in the house whenever you two finish … talking.”

For once, Cai was actually relieved to see the matchmaking glint in Alfred’s eyes. He’d set him straight later. Or try to. What he was going to say to convince him after the
kiss he’d witnessed, he had no idea. Hell, he wasn’t even sure how
he
felt about this new turn in their relationship.

But it was better to deal with Alfred’s scheming than with his curiosity. Cai had a very bad feeling about the package that awaited him.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Jordy said, her cheeks a little pink. “We won’t be long.”

Cai nodded to Alfred and Dilys, then waved to Jordy in front of him down the path.

“What’s going on?” she asked, as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Package at the dock needs my signature.”

Jordy paused and put her hand on his arm. “Do you think it’s from her?”

Even with his mind in total turmoil, her touch drew his attention like a brand. He had a good idea he’d need all his wits about him right now, so he slid his arm from her touch. He’d much rather go back to exploring the kiss they’d just shared than deal with what lay ahead. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I think. Come on.”

The boat that awaited them at the dock wasn’t from any of the usual delivery services that operated out of the Keys. The deliveryman had on a black tank top and khaki shorts. He was of average build, in good shape, and appeared fairly young, in his early twenties. His dark sunglasses and plain black cap hid his features effectively. There was no sign anywhere of what company he worked for.

Cai slowed as he neared the end of the dock.

“You Malacai L’Baan?” the young man called out.

Cai nodded and kept Jordy angled behind him as the young man lifted a wooden crate onto the dock. It was about a foot and a half tall and half as wide.

He lifted a clipboard. “I need you to sign for this.” When Cai made no move to come any closer, he beamed a smile, showing a row of perfect white teeth. “Boss lady gets
a bit antsy about deliveries. You know how it is. I don’t come back with a signature, I get docked my percentage of the delivery fee.”

“Boss
lady
?” Jordy whispered.

“Stay here,” Cai ordered, then walked closer to the crate. “What company are you delivering for?” he asked the young man.

The young man waited a beat too long in answering. “Union Parcel.”

“Never heard of them.” Cai stepped closer. “What’s in the package? Who sent it? I’m not expecting anything.”

“I don’t know about contents.” He tried the smile again, but it wasn’t as confident as his earlier one. “I just deliver ’em. It doesn’t say here who sent it, just an address.”

Cai was close enough now to read the address label plastered on the side of the crate. There was a customs stamp on the side. He looked more closely at it. United Kingdom. The pit in his stomach grew deeper.

He looked back to the young man, who shifted from one foot to the other under Cai’s silent scrutiny.

“If you don’t mind, I’m sort of on a tight schedule here.” He lifted the clipboard again.

There were no other packages in the boat. Cai glanced at the clipboard. There was a manifest on the top, with Union Parcel in bold black print. Maybe the kid was legit, but he still had a bad feeling about this whole setup. He reached for the clipboard. “Your boss works you pretty hard, does she? I wasn’t aware delivery service was such a big business in the Keys.”

The young man just shrugged, eyeing the clipboard as if willing Cai to sign it and hand it back to him.

Cai flipped up the sheet of paper. It was the only one on the clipboard.

Jordy moved beside him. “For someone in a hurry, deliveries are kind of light today.”

Cai glared at her, but she wasn’t looking at him.

“I, um, I only do, you know, one at a time.” He laughed, but didn’t pull it off too well. “Things are spread out down here. I have to turn each sheet in.”

Cai scrawled his name on the line. “What did you say your name was?”

“Uh, Cliff.”

“And your boss, what is her name?” Jordy asked.

His gaze darted between the two of them and he swallowed visibly. “Why do you ask? I mean, you’re not going to complain about anything, are you?”

Cai studied the young man. He’d watched enough people over the years to understand body language. He’s bet his next advance that this kid wasn’t simply worried about keeping his job. He seemed too nervous, as if his fear went a bit deeper than employment. Was the kid working for Margaron? It made sense for her to have someone down here. It explained how the film was delivered to the ZippySnap. He looked down at the manifest and recognized the neat, block lettering that had also been used on the photo envelope.