Page 26 of Far From Sherwood Forest (Far From #3)

In their place stands three men.

Men out of time.

Like John and Henry and I were five years ago.

“Robin?”

It’s the man in the middle who speaks, his loose-fitting trousers and tunic dirty, his disheveled hair windswept. His wide eyes are locked on me, and he takes a shaky step forward.

“Will?”

I stand, my legs trembling just as badly if not worse. John stands beside me, and we both stare out at the men we haven’t seen in five long years. Will Scarlet, Alan A’Dayle, and Friar Tuck all stare back.

John and I rush down the steps while the other three break out in a sprint toward us. Will and I get to each other first, embracing in a hug so tight I swear my ribs might crack. But I don’t care. I hug him even harder as a stinging pressure behind my eyes starts to build.

“It’s been a long time, cousin,” he says as we pull apart, his eyes wet.

“Too long,” I agree.

John and I switch places as he takes Will from me to hug him next while Alan and Tuck practically tackle me. We all laugh and hug as tears start to fall.

It goes on for a while as cracks in my heart that I thought had started to heal break open and bleed with something achingly familiar—love, grief, relief, all tangled together.

I cling to my long lost friends, breathing in the scent of old memories and safety, the kind that only exists in people who’ve seen you at your worst and stayed anyway.

People who’ve always had your back no matter what.

All those things that make them family .

When the chaos of the reunion settles, I wipe stray tears off my chin. “How are you all here?”

They all share quick glances with each other before Alan’s and Tuck’s gazes linger on Will.

“The Spirit of Sherwood Forest came to me,” Will says.

I catch John’s eyes snap to me in my periphery, but I ignore it for now. “She’s the one who sent John and I here, isn’t she?”

Will nods.

“Why did she send you all here now?”

“When you both disappeared a few months ago, I spent a long time looking for—”

“Wait,” I interrupt. “ Months ?”

“Yeah. It was about five months ago.”

Now it’s John and I who share a look.

“We’ve been here over five years,” John says.

All three of their eyes grow big.

“By God’s bones,” Will mutters on a breath as his eyes fill with a sad astonishment. “Well, then it really has been a long time, hasn’t it, Robin?”

“For us more than you, apparently. I take it the Spirit left that part out?”

If Henry’s old friend is who we’re talking about, and she came to Will and sent them all here, then she should have known how differently time has passed for us.

“She did. Maybe that’s because it’s not as important as why you have to come back.”

“Go back?!”

I look between Will and Alan and Tuck before my eyes find John, who looks as confused and concerned as I am. I don’t think either one of us wants to go back. I know he doesn’t, not now that he’s found his happily ever after.

Since I haven’t found mine, maybe I should?

My chest aches at the thought.

Will takes a step forward, the lines of his face set a little deeper than I remember, like maybe he aged five years instead of five months too.

“King Richard is returning soon, and Prince John is planning on staging an ambush outside of town to make it look like he was attacked by…well, us. Once he has the king out of the way, he’ll be able to secure the crown for good. ”

“You know we can’t let that happen, Robin,” Alan adds.

“You’re supposed to help us stop it,” says Will. “That’s what the Spirit said.”

I’m starting to really dislike that damn Spirit.

Shaking my head, I try and fail to wrap my mind around it all. “This doesn’t make sense. Why would she send us here if she was just going to send us back?”

He shrugs. “She said she had her reasons but wouldn’t tell me what they were. Not exactly. She said you had to come here, that this place would give you all the answers you needed to take down the prince.”

I scoff, an angry, bitter noise. “I’ve never met her, and I’m already sick of her fucking riddles. I don’t have those answers.”

“Maybe we should move this inside,” John suggests, glancing back toward the ranch house sitting up on a hill.

There’s no one around, but Lucas comes and goes around the ranch randomly to do his own work. While he’s never minded when we have company, finding three strange men in odd clothing in the middle of his field might raise some questions I really don’t feel like answering right now.

“Right,” I agree. “Let’s get into the bunkhouse.”

Turning around, I lead them in that direction. After I head up the steps to the porch, I open the door and hold it for the others to go in. Once Will, Alan, and Tuck are all inside, whispers of awe carrying out from their unfamiliar environment, John stops in front of me and narrows his eyes.

“You have some explaining to do.”

I nod, knowing he wants to know how I knew about the Spirit. “I will, but Henry might be able to explain it better. You know we have to tell him they’re here.”

John peers through the open door at our old friends and sighs. “That should be interesting.”

No kidding.