“I sent some not a month ago! And… I was with Kit,” I said, hoping it would be some consolation.
Sayla’s mouth twisted, fighting the return of a mischievous smile. “I see that.”
Finally, she stood, dusting the dirt off her skirt before she turned to where Kit remained beside the open doorway. “Welcome back, Mister Mosel,” she said.
Kit offered his hand to shake, but Sayla batted it away.
“Nonsense. If you’ve been looking after my brother for half a year and you’re already courting, I’d say that makes us better than friends.”
She embraced him, and the sight warmed me through. I got to my feet and was sweeping the dust off my backside when I heard my mother’s voice.
“Penwell! Praise the gods, you’ve returned.”
Kit and Sayla broke apart to clear her path out of the house. Before she reached me, I could already see that her eyes were shining with tears. We collided in a desperate hug, and her palms pressed into my back while her body shook with sobs.
Unlike my sister, my motherhadchanged. She’d seemed grayer after my father’s death, and now she was even more so. Haggard, almost, with a bit of a hunch in her shoulders that felt premature for her years. I couldn’t shake the thought that it wasn’t time at all that weighed her down, but the emotional burdens of worry, fear, and loss.
I squeezed my arms around her and laid my head on top of hers, heedless of Kit and Sayla looking on. It was several seconds before Mother’s grip loosened, and she sniffled into my shirt before stepping backward.
“Look at you,” she said through a watery smile. “Taller, I’d swear it.” Her fingers tugged at the untucked hem of my shirt, then moved to feather the ends of my hair. “And this is in need of a trim.”
I craned my head out of her reach, then gave it a shake. “I’ve been growing it out,” I replied.
“Why?”
Hesitating, I glanced past her at Kit and felt what was bound to be the first of many bouts of blush creeping across my cheeks. “I think Kit likes it long,” I murmured.
Mother frowned in confusion as I caught her elbow and spun her toward Kit and Sayla. Seeing him here, with us, felt so right.It felt complete. All my love was in one place, and I felt so full I could have burst.
“Mother, you remember Kit?” I opened my hand toward him, then waved to beckon him closer.
He closed the gap and offered another shake, which my mother accepted with a bit of hesitation. Maybe she could sense my nerves, or perhaps the return of my jaw-aching grin caused her to question until I explained.
“You met him last as my blacksmithing instructor. Now, you can meet him as my intended.”
Mother gasped, then pressed her palms to her mouth, stifling her reply while Sayla spouted off.
“Intended?” Her gaze flicked to my cord-tied wrist as I held it out, then dropped it to take Kit’s hand and pull him to me.
Nodding made my hair swish across my jaw, and I realized how right my mother was about its length. It seemed I’d changed a bit, too, during our time apart.
Sayla gaped while glancing back and forth between Kit and me. After a quiet moment, she snickered. “Oh, Pen, you’ve done quite well for yourself.”
I laughed back and worked my fingers in between Kit’s. “Haven’t I?”
My mirth was short-lived, due in large part to the worried shadows creeping across my mother's face. The last time Kit had been here, she'd been enthralled with his skills and assistance to restore order to our failing farm. Now, she looked at him like he was an unwelcome invader.
“It’s a bit soon, isn’t it?” Her words were for me, an unsubtle plea to my better senses. “You’ve known each other… six months now? And we don’t…” She fixed Kit with a skeptical squint. “Idon’t know you at all.”
I tipped to the side, interrupting her line of sight and flashing my most winsome grin.
“Oh, but you will!” I exclaimed. “He’s coming to live with us. Soon. He’ll be here all the time, and you’ll know him perfectly well, Mother.”
She looked no less concerned and no more convinced, so I relinquished my grip on Kit and clasped her hands instead, holding them between us while I continued to beam.
“You’ll love him,” I assured her, then added, “Ilove him.”
Pink tinted her cheeks as she tried to peer around me at where Kit hovered quietly.
