“You good?” Rowyn asked after a moment.
“I’m not dignifying that question with an answer. But let’s keep going so we can get out of here,” Eliza replied.
“Hurry uuup, I want to explore,” Amelia said as she tapped her foot impatiently at the bottom of the hill.
Elliot was already gathering stones beside her, and both were oblivious to their mother’s near accident.
“Patience, Amelia,” Eliza said with a pointed look.
Amelia had promised to be more mindful of her words and the way she spoke to people when they had all had a conversation before the trip. Eliza in turn had promised to run plans past them before changing them if it wasn’t a necessary change. The look was a reminder, and Amelia got the message as she stopped the tapping.
“I think I’m okay now,” Eliza said as they neared the end.
It was then that Rowyn realized she was still holding Eliza’s arm tightly. It hadn’t been a conscious decision to help her down the rest of the hill, but Eliza hadn’t complained either.
“Okay, lead on, explorers,” Rowyn said, and the kids giggled as they ran ahead again.
“So, we just walk around in a circle and then get back in thecar?” Eliza asked.
Rowyn eyed her as they walked side by side before replying.
“You’ve never been to the woods before?”
“As a child, yes. But you don’t care about these things then. As an adult, I’ve had little need to go to the woods. Henry is the outdoorsy one and the kids get that sort of exposure from him. I usually get to avoid it.”
Rowyn grabbed a leaf from the nearby tree, pulling it apart as she spoke.
“It’s a lot more than walking in a circle. You take in your surroundings, you search for hidden treasures, you build terrible dens and skim rocks and find the best stick you’ve ever found in your life. It’s a place full of endless possibilities, Eliza.”
Rowyn pointed at where the kids had ducked into a grove and begun piling sticks together as proof.
“You have an interesting view of the world, Rowyn,” Eliza said.
Rowyn couldn’t tell if she meant interesting in a good way or not, but she chose to take it as a compliment.
“Why, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to ensure these kids’ den building skills are up to scratch.”
Eliza’s mouth twitched in an almost smile as Rowyn saluted her and ran ahead to play with the kids. Her new mission of the day was to coax a real smile out of Eliza. That plus maybe, just maybe, get her to open up and lower those defences a little bit more.
Chapter Nine
“But she picked last time, I wanna pick.”
Eliza took a deep breath and tried to find her last shred of patience to respond to Elliot without escalating the situation. The day had gone surprisingly well overall, but it had been long and busy. Now that they were home, everyone was tired and overstimulated. The kids had begged for a movie night on the way home, and Eliza had agreed with the idea that it would be a good way to calm down before bed. What she hadn’t anticipated was the constant bickering about every single aspect of the evening before they had even gotten out of the car.
It had begun with disagreements on what takeout food to pick up, continued with who got to sit next to Rowyn, and was now escalating with who got to pick the movie.
“Have either of you ever seenThe Little Rascals?” Rowyn said brightly.
How she still had that wondrous excitement in her voice was astounding to Eliza. Both kids gave her their full attention immediately, and Eliza tempered the pang of jealousy.
“That’s what Daddy calls us. Little rascals.” Amelia giggled.
“Your dad is a smart guy. It’s a movie that I used to love growing up. I’m not sure we should watch it, though, because there might be some pranks…”
Rowyn had reeled the kids in with the question and had them hook, line, and sinker with that bait and switch.
“I want to watch it!”
