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“Thank you.”

“You grew up so fast, my sweet little one. You’re not such a fledgling anymore. Thank you for needing me still.”

Mother kissed Grace’s head, retrieved the plate of food, and handed it to Grace. “Eat and rest. I will wake you to make plans later this evening. For now, let us handle things.”

Grace smiled at her mother as she exited and closed the door.Let them handle things.That was the way the Rogue worked. It always had been. A team.

Maybe, just maybe, she could have that too.

Food finished, she set the tray on the table beside her bed and banished thoughts. She had a lot ahead of her, and she needed her rest.

But tomorrow, she’d revisit what her mother had said. She had a decision to make, and a few questions that hovered at the back of her mind. Mother’s comment about Garrick and Jonathan had set her subconscious whirling.

Tomorrow. Now, sleep.

Chapter 24

Grace was in the fields moments after the sun rose the next day. Her head was gloriously headache free, and she was keenly aware of how much of their fields was left to harvest and thresh. And today was the first day of tax week.

Besides, she had a lot to think about, and being out in the crisp morning cleared her thoughts.

Garrick.

That was where her mind stayed for a long while, the entire time until Willa marched her way into the field and well beyond. Grace’s pulse increased just thinking of him, which was terrifying.

Grace gathered an armful of wheat and hauled it toward the storage barn.

She wanted to heed her mother’s advice from the night before and trust him. But just when she’d thought she’d made adecision, she thought of the night in the abandoned shed with the Rogue.

She remembered her draw to him. Then, her interest in Garrick had held her back; now, it was the other way around. Only when she’d allowed herself to consider a future with Garrick did she realize what she’d lose by letting go of the Rogue. He knew secrets Garrick didn’t.

People were making their way into the barn when Grace arrived. They greeted her, but she didn’t respond. She was too caught up in her thoughts.

If Grace chose to trust Garrick, she didn’t want it to be half-hearted. She wanted to one day share with him every part of her life.

Even if Garrick was trustworthy, though, would it be too risky? An accidental slip to the sheriff about the Protectors, and the forest fortress would be overrun. Then it wouldn’t matter if Grace and her parents managed to contain the Zerudorn gold already loose in the mayor’s copse. There was enough gold in the crater to consume the entire forest in a matter of weeks if a person wasn’t careful.

How could she live a life with someone who never knew her as the Protector she was.

To be seen.

That was what they all wanted. Her, the Rogue, and Garrick.

I don’t like it when you can’t see me.

Grace paused in her work.

Her mother’s comment about Jonathan and Garrick spending time together in their youth had Grace pondering, once again, if it was Garrick, and not James, behind the green mask. Not only pondering it, but yearning for it, desperately.

But no matter how her heart throbbed with the desire, she couldn’t deny that she’d seen Garrick patrolling the fields not long before the Rogue’s appearance on the storage barn duringharvest, and she had seen him in the square, gathering for the first patrol on the night of the harvest celebration.

Still, so much of the Rogue reminded her of him. Their sweetness, the scent of nutmeg, calloused hands. Even the appearance matched.

Don’t call me that!The Rogue had been so insistent that she not call him James.

And the gruffness in Garrick’s voice the day before, reminiscent of the Rogue’s attempt to protect his identity in the absence of the face cloth. Was it really only a headache-caused fog that had her confusing that voice with the Rogue’s?

There were too many similarities. She had to be right about Garrick.