I didn’t speak, but my grip on Kit’s hand turned vice like. I would have begged him to ignore it, keen as I was on hiding from my troubles lately, but we couldn’t very well leave anyonestanding on the stoop. Besides, if itwasthe militia, they would break the door in if we didn’t open it for them.
“I’ll get it,” Kit said, like I knew he would. Even here, he insisted on being first to face the world and its dangers. And, I knew without him explaining, giving me time to escape them.
While he walked the short distance to the entry, I wondered if he thought I would run. Given the chance, would I dash out the back door and into the fields? Hide in the barn? Or bolt out into the distant woods and never look back? Was it better to live a coward, alone and afraid? Or face a deadly punishment?
I knew Kit’s answer to that. He’d given it back in Ashpoint after our second meeting with the resistance. In many ways, his joining me in the first place was an answer too. He’d lived many years running and hiding and had decided against it. If he could face his past, the least I could do was accept my present.
I held my breath as Kit pulled the door open inward. I might have even flinched before I saw the faces of our visitors, and before I recognized them.
Warren stood at the front of a small group of men. As Sayla predicted, he’d come for breakfast, and he’d brought his father and brothers.
Warren drew up at the sight of Kit, who couldn’t have missed the fresh edge of fear in the younger man’s eyes. He was wary, and he hadn’t been before. Afraid of the potential threat Kit represented. A former cultist. The man who’d taken me from here and brought me back changed, even if Sayla didn’t think so.
It wasn’t Kit’s fault.
Warren’s trepidation was not shared by his family members, who barreled through the entry in a series of handshakes and hasty introductions.
Tailing after them and leaving Kit to close the door, Warren smiled sheepishly at Sayla and said, “I hope you made plenty of food.”
36
Kit
Penny and I finished breakfast and headed outside before everyone else. Warren spent the entire meal with half an eye on me, so I figured he was due some time with Sayla and his family without the burden of my presence. I tried not to be bothered by his newfound wariness, but it was hard not to be.
The weather had improved overnight, and the hazy morning sun was burning away the last faint clouds and chasing the chill from the air. The dampness had abated as well, which was as much a boon for Penny as everything else.
Unfortunately, the ground was still a quagmire. That much couldn’t be helped by a few hours without rain.
I fetched the horse from the paddock while Penny retrieved the harness from the barn, and we met at the edge of the field to get the mare hitched up. Penny hardly spoke as he fastened buckles and straps, then untangled the reins. I could tell that Amelina’s absence at breakfast weighed on him.
His act may have fooled Warren and his family, but I saw through his pasted-on smile and halfhearted conversation. It was yet another problem I couldn’t fix. Another thing he’d tell me not to blame myself for, but how could I not? His mother hadbeen skeptical of mebeforeshe knew I’d not done everything in my power to keep Penny from attempting the Oaths. Now she refused to speak to any of us.
“It’ll be good to have the extra help,” I said once the harness was secured and Penny handed me the reins.
He shrugged. “I’m a little overwhelmed, to be honest. It was hard enough to find something for just Warren to do, and now there’s four of them.”
I stepped in and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “We have a plan, remember? And with more hands, we can plant more fields. Set us up real nice for a good harvest. No fields left untouched this year. As long as the growing season cooperates, we'll bring in a banner crop for the Oliver farm.”
The back door opened, and the other four men filed out. Warren hung back as they approached, but his father and brothers looked ready to go. They gathered around Penny and me awaiting instructions.
“Thank you for coming to help.” I directed that to all of them, but most pointedly at Warren.
He took a deep breath, set his shoulders back, and met my eyes. His nod was as good a declaration of a sort of truce as anything.
“I know this isn’t your usual work, but we can still put you to use. For now, I’d like you to focus on moving the livestock from their current pasture to one of the fallow fields. There are three,” I glanced over at Penny to confirm, and continued when he nodded assent. “Pick whichever is the most overgrown. Walk the fence to make sure there are no breaks, and once the animals are all moved, walk their pasture and clear any debris or larger plant growth to prepare it for plowing.
“If you finish in time, move on to the next field and clear out any vegetation. They’ve been fallow for a few seasons, but it’s time to put them to work now that we have the hands to makethat possible.” I gestured to Penny. “We’ll handle plowing at least the rest of the first field, and we’ll reassess when we break for lunch. Sound good?”
All four heads bobbed.
Penny piped up from behind me. “Warren can show you the tools in the barn, and he’s familiar with the livestock. He should be able to help with them if you need it.”
Warren blushed at the acknowledgement, and the lot of them dispersed back to the barn to begin their assigned tasks.
I led the horse out into the field and backed her up to the plow. Penny slogged through the muck and took his position between the handles. I let him stay there until I had the mare secured, then held the reins out to him.
“You belong up here,” I said.
