AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dixon flashed the back of his notepad.
“Oh, yes. Now I remember. Your name is weird.” She then stood up, half her meal forgotten.
Without a goodbye, she gathered up her books and left the room.
Kenna sighed. “When I said we all cook and clean up, I obviously didn’t mean Blair.”
“For good reason.” Mòr snickered. “Do you remember that one time when she put dish soap in the dishwasher?”
“Yes. Bubbles oozed out into the kitchen. She nearly flooded the whole place.”
“What about the time she nearly burned down the kitchen when making—”
“Anything? Ever?”
Connell snickered. “Remember that one time when she put a star drive in the toaster by mistake? Gods, the smell.”
“That wasn’t funny.” Kenna frowned. “She cried for hours until she remembered she’d backed up her data. I can handle her being a brat. I can’t handle her crying. It’s much too sad.”
“It’s good she lives with you,” Lila said. “You can take care of her.”
“Yes, it’s so fun reminding her to eat and take a bath and wear her coat like she’s some toddler.” Cecily sniffled. “I bet she even bought me the same solstice present as last summer.”
“It’s the thought that counts,” her mother said. “At least she remembers to buy them now.”
“Only because I put it on the calendar. You’d think she’d remember the date of the solstices. She’s an astronomer.”
“Blair just has trouble remembering things. It has nothing to do with her feelings about you.”
Cecily hopped up from her place, her meal barely touched. “I have to start the dishes.”
Camille jumped from the bench too, and swallowed the last bite of her eggs. “I’ll help. We’ll get it done together.”
Kenna shot her a grateful look.
Lila and Dixon left after breakfast, their offers to assist with the dishes rebuffed. “Your work here is too important,” Mòr replied. “I wish we could chat more, but I must get to the temple. The crowd will be thick, since I did not go back yesterday afternoon. I hope to see you at dinner, though. Kenna always cooks something nice.”
Lila thanked her for the invitation, and she and Dixon grabbed their coats and trundled back out into the cold. The pair threaded through purplecoats and people out on errands in the crisp morning air. Chimney smoke filled the air above the cabins.
She didn’t remember my name.
“No, she didn’t. She wanted to know if we were having sex, though. That’s something.”
You don’t think my name is weird, do you?
“Apparently it is to her.” Lila laughed as the pair stepped across their cabin’s porch.
She reached for the door, then teetered off balance as it smacked her face.
A stiff arm shoved her to the ground. Her cheek caught a nearby bench on the way down, the blunt shock surprising her more than the sharp crack of wood against bone. A blur of black trousers, black boots, and a black hooded sweater rushed past them.
Dixon lunged.
The figure dodged and spun.
Before Dixon could react, the intruder leapt off the porch and sprinted away, clumps of mud flying underfoot.
Chapter 12
