Page 29 of Far From Sherwood Forest (Far From #3)

What would it say about me if I could forgive Henry for killing my father but I couldn’t forgive my own kin for this? For this horrible mistake that he clearly regrets. One that he crossed realms to make up for.

I force my feet to move, rounding the fire in Will’s direction. He straightens, and his eyes go wide with caution while his jaw sets with acceptance of his fate.

Stopping in front of him, I stare into his face, making an easy decision.

I hold my hand out toward him. He peers down at it and hesitates for only a brief moment before he takes my hand in his. Pulling him close, I wrap my other arm around him and embrace him.

“You’re my family, Will.”

He sobs into my shoulder as he holds onto me tight.

“None of us are perfect. What matters is what’s in our heart.” I pull back until he lifts his head and looks at me through his tears. “What’s in your heart, cousin?”

“Whatever is in yours. I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, Robin.”

“Then that’s good enough for me.”

He sobs again and buries his face in my chest. I let him cry, his tears dampening my shirt, until I feel that some of his own burden that he’s been carrying around has been eased.

“I’m so sorry to all of you too,” Will says, his voice breaking as he steps back from me and looks around at the others. “Robin’s right. I betrayed you all as well.”

John, Alan, and Tuck all rise from their seats and approach us. Will looks at them as wearily as he did me.

Alan looks from me to Will, and I can sense some of the tension that John mentioned had been between them before. But then Alan says, “If Robin forgives you, then so do we.”

John and Tuck both nod in agreement.

We all end up in one big group hug with Will still weeping weakly between us. If I hadn’t slept as long as I had earlier, I’d probably be just as exhausted as he is after all of this. Even with the sleep I got, I’m still drained.

But when John pulls out the beer, we leave it all behind.

The rest of the night, we sit around the fire, drink, and exchange memories, both old and new, of Sherwood Forest and of this world. We laugh. We cry a little more. Even after the way it started, it’s still one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.

Reunited with my family.

Dealing with whatever the Spirit has planned is a problem for another day.

The next day, I show up at Henry’s cabin just after sunrise before he’s had a chance to leave for work. I don’t exactly have a plan. I have no idea what I’m going to say to him. All I know is that we need to talk.

And I’m sure he’ll hate every minute of it.

Taking the steps up to the porch of the cabin, I stop in front of the door. I give myself five seconds to hesitate and no more than that. I raise my fist and knock.

It takes about twenty seconds more before the door opens. And, with my dumb luck, Henry stands there in nothing but a pair of tight jeans and his boots, his bare torso tempting me to run my tongue through the hairy valleys of his abs.

Fuck me, he’s hot.

“What are you doing here?” he asks after I fail to speak.

For a moment, I completely forget why I’m there and struggle to come up with an answer. I may as well have been staring at him with drool dripping down my chin.

Finally, I clear my throat and say, “We need to talk.”

He rolls his eyes. “Of fucking course.”

Called it.

Stepping back, he lets me come inside before shutting the door behind me. When I turn back toward him, we stare at each other for several more seconds before I figure out what to say—because he’s certainly not going to be the first one to start any kind of conversation.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. About Will.”

He shrugs. “You didn’t have a reason to.”

“I’d like to think that’s not true,” I tell him with a frown.

After everything that’s happened between us, I’d like to think that I could trust him about something like that. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I really am naive after all.

“I take it you forgave him?” he asks, and I can already hear the angry edge in his voice.

“I forgave you,” I point out.

“Yeah, you did. Because you see everyone and everything through rose-colored glasses.”

And there’s my confirmation.

“You killed my father, and I killed your cousin. You hunted me for years, and I left you all alone in a new world. Haven’t we hurt each other enough, Henry?”

That seems to get through to him. Some of the tension seeps out of him, his shoulders falling a few centimeters. However, the crease between his brows deepens like he’s genuinely contemplating the question, wondering if maybe I’m right.

I don’t expect an answer, so I move on. “I think you’re supposed to come back too.”

“To Nottingham? To Sherwood Forest?” He scoffs like the idea is ridiculous. “What makes you think that?”

I shrug, thinking back to the bear that attacked us in the park. There had to be a reason for it. It was the first time Henry and I ever fought on the same side, and I think we’re supposed to do it again.

“It’s just a guess. Maybe I’m wrong. But I thought I’d give you a heads up in case the Spirit decides to surprise us again.”

“Thanks. But I have no reason to go back.”

Ouch.

Way to twist the knife, Henry.

I give him a slow nod and turn to leave, trying not to let it show how badly I’m fucking bleeding out.

“You don’t either.”

His words stop me before my hand can reach for the door.

I keep my back to him while I try to decipher his meaning on my own, but when I come up short, I turn to face him again.

There’s something different in his expression than there was seconds before.

Something that looks an awful lot like desperation.

Or maybe that’s just me being naive again.

“What does that mean?”

“I told you before. Whatever’s going on back there isn’t your problem anymore, Robin. I know you have more reasons to stay here than you do for going back.”

“And what reasons are those, Henry?” I ask, frustration building in my bones. “You can’t answer that, can you? Because it’s certainly not you. So why the hell shouldn’t I go back and finish what I started all those years ago?”

His jaw ticks visibly beneath his beard.

“You can’t answer that either? Then what the fuck does it matter to you?”

“Because you fucking matter!”

That shocks me into silence.

My lips part, and my breathing temporarily ceases. Henry’s eyes widen by a degree, as though he’s just as surprised by what he said as I am.

“Well,” I mutter as I release the air caught in my lungs, “you sure have a funny way of showing it. Goodbye, Henry.”

I turn my back on him, having every intention of leaving without another word because I know if I stay, I’ll go back to being even more pathetically desperate for him than I’ve already been.

But when he speaks, reversing our usual roles, I snap.

“Robin, wait.”

“No!” I spin back around too fast, and the world seems to tilt.

But maybe the wave of dizziness is from the rush of blood, my heart racing so hard it’s throwing everything off balance.

“You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to stop me from walking away from you when you’ve walked away from me time and time again. ”

His expression falters, and an ache similar to mine tugs at the corners of his mouth.

“I don’t know why the fuck I even still try with you. But I’m done. I’m done trying, Henry. You’re nothing but walls and locked doors, and I’m tired of being trapped in that maze.”

He takes a step forward. Then another. He doesn’t try to interrupt me, just slowly stalks in my direction while I finally unleash months of irritation and disappointment.

“I wanted things to be different. I hoped so fucking badly that they could be. But I guess that’s what I get for thinking hope could actually be enough.”

I’m so overwhelmed by this storm churning in my chest that I barely register how close he’s getting.

“And if you think I have absolutely no reason to go back, then you don’t know me at all.”

He’s right in front of me now, but I don’t stop. The dam is broken, and I’m full of cracks, everything spilling out.

“So I am going because it’s the right fucking thing to do. But maybe I don’t have any reasons to ever come ba—”

Henry crashes his mouth to mine, and my words die on a last breath.

Whatever thoughts I was just having die too because the only thing consuming me now is this kiss, the touch of Henry’s lips on mine. I only realize now how deeply I’ve been craving it. Our mouths mold perfectly together as his lips press hard against mine.

His hands go to my waist, gripping me tight as he pushes me backward until my back hits the door. The moment my lips part on a gasp, his tongue dives inside my mouth, and the taste of him bursts on my tongue—a little minty with a hint of watermelon.

He tastes so fucking good.

He pulls back, giving me a chance to breathe. Of course, when I see the gorgeous fucking grin on his face, I find that air is in short supply.

“I guess I found another way to shut you up.”

“So don’t fucking stop.”

Placing both my hands on the sides of his face, I pull his mouth back to mine.

Our kiss is vicious, a brutal, breathless tangle of tongues, a desperate grazing of teeth.

My hands slip lower, fingers trailing through the dark hair on his chest. A low sound escapes him at my touch—a half sigh, half growl, like distant thunder that rocks my bones.

He pulls me deeper into the kiss, his mouth claiming, devouring, like he’s trying to drink something out of me.

Hungry. Relentless. Beneath my palms, his skin is fire, his heartbeat a frantic drum.

When his hips grind against mine, I’m not at all surprised to feel that we’re both hard.

Fucking aching .