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She lunged for the bag, and almost got it, too. I raised it higher, out of her reach.
She pouted, then giggled. “You’re no fun.”
An answering smile claimed my face. I pulled her in for a one-armed kiss, then smacked her butt and released her. “Put on your hiking boots, too. We’ll be in the woods.”
She nodded and went into her bedroom, returning in sturdy hiking boots and a yellow down jacket. She could barely close the zipper over her abdomen.
“You need a bigger jacket,” I told her, frowning. “Have Rio order it.”
“I’m okay.” Finally getting the zipper over her stomach, she pulled it the rest of the way to her neck. “I can wear this one unzipped with a sweater underneath.”
“The hell you will. I can afford to buy you a fucking jacket.” If I wanted to, I could buy the whole goddamn manufacturing plant.
Her jaw set stubbornly. “But I like this jacket, and it’s only for a couple of months. After I have the baby, it will fit again. It’s not because I think you can’t afford it. It’s because I’m against throwaway, fast fashion. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
I grunted noncommittally. I heard her, but we were on an island in the North Atlantic and tomorrow was December first. She needed something warm, something she could zip up for Lilith’s sake.
In the castle courtyard, a driver was warming up a syndicate SUV for us. He exited the vehicle, leaving the key inside.
“You can go about your duties,” I told him as I helped Eden into the passenger seat. “I’ll return the SUV to the garage myself.”
He dipped his chin. “Very good, Lieutenant.”
We drove out of the courtyard under a cloudless sky. Last week’s snow had melted the following day, and nothing had fallen since, leaving the streets clear except for a few dirty piles along the shoulders. I took the cliff road south. To the east, the moon floated above the ocean like a fat gold balloon.
Just before we reached the turn-off to my mom’s house, I swung onto a dirt road lined with sugar maples, their smooth gray trunks skirted with a fine mist.
Eden glanced around, her pretty oval face alight with interest. “I don’t think I’ve ever been down this road before.”
“No?” I navigated the last hundred meters of mud and gravel. “There used to be a sugar shack back here. This guy named Magee owned it, and I’d help him in return for a couple of jugs of maple syrup. When he died, no one took it over.”
“That’s too bad. My dad had a friend who made his own, and me and Freya used to help tend the fire. It was the best.”
“I used to love maple candy.” My mouth watered, remembering.
“Really? Me, too. Sugar or cream?”
I slanted her a look. “Both. Why choose?”
She snort-laughed. “I like how you think.”
That silly snort fell on my soul like rain on a desert. I made a mental note to have Rio grab Eden a big box of maple candy in Bluebeard’s Cove.
The road ended next to an old sugar shack. The roof had caved in during a tropical storm a few years back, and all six windows were either broken or missing all together. A maple sapling had found its way inside, its branches pushing through the window frames and out the roof.
I took the insulated bag, a small flashlight and a waterproof picnic blanket from the backseat and met Eden at the front of the SUV.
“Where are we going?” she asked, pulling on her striped mittens.
“A creek I found back when I was a kid. We’re not far from where I grew up.” I handed her the flashlight. “There’s a path—just follow me.”
“Okay,” she said cheerfully, switching on the flashlight.
I hesitated, belatedly questioning the wisdom of taking a pregnant woman over rough ground, but the creek was only a short walk away, and Eden was more animated than I’d seen her in a week.
“Stay right behind me, all right?” I told her. “And be careful.”
She brought the flashlight to her temple in a smart-ass salute, the beam sweeping over the crumbling shack. “Got it.”
