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“Uncle Bastien!” Maisy hopped down, her hands on her hips. “You can’t hurt Sunweave. Promise?”
“I promise,” he chuckled, which seemed to satisfy Maisy. Her entire demeanor changed as she giggled and raced after a rooster with silvery feathers that glinted in the light.
Other than the three of them, no one else was in the stables.
“How is she?” Bastien asked after a moment, the faintest sliver of worry running through his mirthful eyes.
“She’s going to be just fine. Thanks to you.” They clasped hands and briefly embraced. A surge of gratitude filled his entire soul. Without Bastien, Nyana would be dead within days. He had both Bastien and Killian to thank for saving his wife. “I can’t thank you enough.”
His brother-in-law shrugged, watching Maisy try to catch the rooster, only for it to dart away before he spoke again. “I wanted to apologize for the other night,” he said quietly, glancing toward the barn entrance. No one entered. “I heard your conversation with my sister. I didn’t realize you weren’t in a relationship.”
“We’re married.”
“It’s not really the same thing, is it?”
Joel frowned as he picked up a brush from a table and entered Sunweave’s stable, brushing the creature down. Bastien followed him inside. He’d known from the beginning that a relationship with Nyana wasn’t likely to form. He was still trying to be fine with that.
“You look at Nyana the way Ashryn looks at food.”
“Excuse me?” he coughed, wide-eyed as Bastien shrugged non-apologetically.
“She loves food more than anything in the world. What I’m trying to say is, you’re head over heels in love with Nyana. And she has no clue.”
His frown deepened as he stroked the horse’s fur harder. Faster. “What do you know? Tumbling in the woods with a friend, my arse.”
A laugh escaped his brother-in-law as the man rolled his eyes. “I don’t expect you to understand.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced toward the entrance again. “I’m probably the worst person to give you advice about relationships. But have you considered telling her how you feel?”
Joel snorted. “And scare her away? I don’t think so.”
“Where’s she gonna go? You’re married to her. The feelings aren’t just going to,” his fingers uncurled from fists like a poof of dandelion fluff, “go away.”
“I’ll ruin our friendship.”
Bastien rolled his eyes. “You are married to the blasted woman! If you wanted to just be friends, you didn’t have to propose to her. And she didn’t have to accept. So…” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a carrot, biting off the tip with a crunch and chewing before offering the rest to Sunweave. With a full mouth, he continued, “I think there’s a part of her, however small, that wants to be loved considering she did accept your offer. If you continue to not love her, you’ll grow a chasm between the two of you.”
“Dark shadows,” Joel mumbled, kicking his boot into the dirt. “What would you know? You are four years younger than me.”
Bastien shrugged again, grinning from ear to ear. “Let’s just say that one of us is tumbling in the woods, and the other is not.”
Joel scowled, and when he attempted to punch the other man in the shoulder, he ducked out of the way, laughing as he exited the barn.
A wry chuckle escaped his mouth, followed by a heaving sigh. Bastien was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Years ago, he’d lost Nyana to his best friend because he’d confessed his feelings too late. If there was even the smallest chance that she might return a fraction of his feelings, he wanted to try.
No matter how much it terrified him.
****
“There!” Nyana said to herself as she popped a tray of scones into the oven. Foreign energy flowed through her veins. She felt lighter. Happier. Unburdened. Her body no longer ached. Her mind no longer wandered in the darkness. And her soul… It felt cleansed. Renewed. Wonderful.
And it was because of Killian and Bastien. But especially Joel. When she’d entered into a marriage with him, she’d never expected so much kindness and dedication. How could she possibly thank him for everything he’d done for them? For her?
Her smile melted as she ran the kitchen cloth through her hands, waiting for the scones to bake as Eva occupied herself with Bastien’s glass marbles on the other side of the room. This morning, she’d looked much better than she had in months. Years, even. She felt confident and beautiful.
Yet, Joel had acted as if he couldn’t put distance between them fast enough.
“Am I not worth loving?” she whispered to herself, her eyes smarting at the lonely reality of her situation. “Or do you still care for Genica?”
Involuntarily, she glanced toward his few belongings beside the sofa where he’d slept last night. A bag. A blanket. A change of clothes.
