Page 11 of Magic Blooms

ten

Although Joshua didn’t live far from Fox’s End, the land surrounding his home felt worlds apart. In fact, the ground was so moist that the trees seemed to be melting into it.

The entire region had been claimed by a variety of buzzing and blood-sucking bugs, all of which were only too happy to grab onto me and rest for a while. A few landed bites, too.

Since I didn’t have one of those magical phones everyone else seemed to have, the only way for me to get in touch with Joshua was to walk to him. Lorraine had tried to call him for me, but he hadn’t answered—and I’d stubbornly insisted that I wouldn’t mind the exercise.

Better to waste time moving toward a solution than to waste it by doing nothing.

Back home, I was always wandering around. Things were certainly more boring back there. As the daughter of two powerful earth elementals, my role was mostly ornamental. I went to events when I was told, acted how everyone expected, lived life as little more than a decoration.

As much as I’d love to get back to the place I’d always belonged, things were certainly more interesting here. I felt bad for our dearly departed Karen, but I was also filled with a swell of excitement. I could help solve her murder. I could help Lorraine.

I could do something. Be somebody.

Even though they were reluctant to accept my help, Lorraine and Jasmine agreed that since I was a newcomer, it’d be easiest for me to get Art to open up without raising his suspicions.

But they didn’t want me to go alone, and that was why I was walking to Joshua’s abode, hidden somewhere in the swamp lands.

Lorraine had given me very specific instructions and even drew out a map, and she also kept on telling me to “watch out for them gators.” Given my special rapport with animals, though, I wasn’t too worried about that.

In fact, so far I wasn’t seeing much besides the constant cloud of bugs, assorted birds, and the furry brown rodents that seemed to scurry all over these parts.

As much as I enjoyed the flurry of activity that had pulled me along since I’d arrived in Elyria, this chance to have time to myself and reconnect with nature was doing wonders for my soul.

And if the land revived my soul, the bright sun soothed my fears.

It didn’t take long to complete the instructions Lorraine had given me, meaning that so long as I hadn’t gone off track, Joshua’s home should be at the end of this road.

Lorraine had warned me that his cabin was a bit rough around the edges, but seeing as he’d put a lot of work into it, I should keep my mouth shut if I had any complaints.

I didn’t think I was the type to complain too much, so I was a little offended at her well-intentioned warning. Fox’s End was nothing like the vast palaces I was used to in Vilea and I hadn’t once mentioned that to her or anybody else.

Considering how surly Joshua had been the few times I’d seen him, I had to assume the advice had more to do with him than me. Although even I had to admit that I hadn’t spent any time with Joshua when we weren’t both under duress of some sort.

For all I knew, he could be a totally different person when things were going well.

It was really too bad I wouldn’t be around long enough to see that for myself.

I needed his help in this. His intuition coupled with his no-nonsense attitude would get results, I was just as sure of that as I was that the sky would soon open and pour a heavy curtain of rain down onto the earth.

Not because of me this time, though.

Rounding a small copse of trees, I finally spotted my destination. Honestly, I probably would have missed it if I hadn’t specifically been searching—and that simple fact reminded me of home, bringing a smile to my face.

Rustic logs lined the outside of the house, giving it a much more earthy look than either Fox’s End or Pinecrest. The logs weren’t all even in size or matching in color. I could tell there was a personal touch to this and not the manufactured look of everything else.

I approached carefully, taking in all the details.

There was no lawn or garden here. The lone cabin seemed to be as organic as the swamp around it.

The structure stood on a slight incline, most likely placed just so to help keep it safe when the waters flooded.

Near the front door, Ranger lay curled up in a patch of sun shining through the tree canopy.

A few paces down on the river, an old dock reached into the swamp; a small boat sat tethered at its side.

I shivered, having always preferred land to water by nature of my gifts. I’d much rather stay put on dry land than trust that strange contraption to escort me safely to destinations unknown.

Which made me wonder, how often did Joshua venture out there? And why would he even need to?

He obviously wasn’t afraid of “them gators,” even if Lorraine was.

The door swung open on hinges that could do with a bit of greasing.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” said Joshua, striding toward me with a worried brow. Ranger lifted his head up and thumped his tail against the ground in greeting.

“Hello,” I called out cheerfully. I even flashed him my most winning smile. Maybe if I seemed easygoing enough, he wouldn’t be upset that I’d shown up at his doorstep without an invitation. “Lorraine tried to call, but you didn’t answer.”

Joshua glanced around, and I could practically see him trying to figure out how I got here.

“I walked,” I supplied with another ingratiating grin.

He raised one thick brow my way. “You walked? Here? From Fox’s End?”

“Yes, yes, and yes again. It wasn’t far. I left at three.”

“Yeah well it’s almost five now. In fact, I was just about to… Wait, what were you going to do if I wasn’t here?”

“It doesn’t matter, because you are here. And now so am I.” I tilted my head and considered him. “I walked here. I can just as easily walk back.”

Joshua rolled his eyes at me. “You’re going to walk all the way back to Fox’s End in the dark?”

I shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

Everyone kept expecting me to be afraid, and so far I hadn’t seen any reason why I should be. Granted, a woman had turned up dead earlier that day, but other than proximity and my insistence on solving the case for Lorraine, it had nothing to do with me.

“For one, you’re going to end up as gator bait,” he growled.

“Everyone keeps on warning me of these gators, but I have yet to see one, let alone be attacked by one.”

Joshua threw his head back and let out a sharp laugh. “Of course you don’t see them. Hiding is what they do best.” He strode past me and toward the dock that reached out over the murky brown waters of the swamp.

“Come here,” he commanded.

I obediently followed to the edge of the water but remained with both feet firmly on the shore. While I was confident I could walk back to Fox’s End, swimming was another story entirely.

“Now I want you to look out there and tell me what you see,” Joshua said, putting one strong hand on my shoulder.

I looked out at the mix of water and land. There was no obvious line where one ended and the other began. They seemed to blend seamlessly together.

“I see a swamp. So what?” I said answered matter-of-factly. We had those back home too, mostly amid the lands occupied by the water elementals, though.

“Okay. Wait there, and hold that thought.” Joshua let go of my shoulder and returned to his cabin. A moment later he reemerged, that creaky door announcing his presence. Smirking as he strode past me, he ambled to the end of the dock.

I watched with a silent curiosity as he opened up the large red and white box he’d brought with him, reached inside, and pulled out a giant hunk of meat.

The same second he threw it in the water, the swamp’s surface split open and an enormous scaled head with impossibly large teeth snapped at the air.

Joshua laughed and threw another bit of meat toward where the creature had just appeared.

More and more of its comrades emerged from the depths.

Their greenish armored bodies looked as if they could stand up to just about any threat, while their bright eyes glowed with the knowledge that they were the apex predator around here.

Joshua kept throwing meat to them, and they kept throwing their bodies around, snapping their jaws, clamping shut with great satisfaction when they managed to snag one of the prized morsels.

Was this supposed to scare me? Right now, my biggest concern wasn’t the gators—at least that was my guess as to what they were. Joshua would likely confirm that for me soon. No, my biggest concern was much smaller and far more persistent, too.

Already the gators were retreating back beneath the swamp, but the insects hadn’t given me a single moment to miss them. I slapped at my neck, the small bugs taking full advantage of my distraction to attack.

“All right. I get it,” I spat out, eager for this masculine display to end.

“Do you?” asked Joshua as he kicked the lid to the box shut.

“Just because I can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there.” Though I still wasn’t properly frightened. I noticed the gators hadn’t gone after Joshua or me. It could have been his familiarity with them, or my ability to naturally relate to all organic life.

Perhaps Joshua was similarly gifted. If so, why wouldn’t he just tell me already?

I was fairly certain I could trust him with my identity, but I still wasn’t one-hundred percent sure. Since I didn’t think he needed to know, I didn’t see the need to risk it.

“Now that you know a bit more about the dangers of the swamp, tell me, why did you walk two hours just to see me?” He smirked.

“Well, you hadn’t yet come back to see me, so I figured I’d come find you. Lorraine and Jasmine suspect Art would have finished his examination of Karen Harrison.”

“Karen?”

“The woman from this morning. The unfortunate one. Even though Gerry was the one to suggest it, they do think talking to Art is a good idea, and they want me to because I’m new here and he might talk more to me.”

Joshua let out a snort as he stepped off the dock. “Or because you’re young and pretty.”

I felt a surge of hot blood rush to my cheeks. “You think I’m pretty?” It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, but that small compliment had come on quite unexpectedly, especially after the overdramatic way he’d introduced me to his neighbor gators.

He actively avoided the question. “It’s not a terrible idea. If you don’t mind a middle-aged drunk hitting on you.”

“I don’t want him to hit me. I want him to talk to me.”

Joshua frowned and once again I realized I’d said the wrong thing. Stupid colloquialisms.

He just shook his head. “Give me a chance to change into something clean, and we’ll head into town. It’s about time he’ll be closing up the office for the day, anyway.”

I looked his clothes up and down. The worn jeans and t-shirt seemed like his normal casual attire, though he was now coated in a sheen of moisture. Okay, maybe I could see why he would need to change.

For some odd reason, though, the sight of him covered in sweat didn’t disgust me like I expected. If anything, I liked the way he wore the residue of a hard day’s work plainly for all to see. Unabashedly. It made me—

“Are you going to be okay out here?” he asked, interrupting my errant thoughts.

Another bug landed on me, and I swatted at it with a groan. Stupid distractions.

“Fine. C’mon in. Just don’t touch anything while you’re inside,” he warned with a stern expression.

Don’t touch anything. Don’t say anything rude. Don’t say anything to imply I’m not from here. There were just so many don’ts in this place. I found it all very exhausting.

I followed Joshua inside, careful to sidestep Ranger where he lapped water out of a steel bowl.

A short flight of creaky stairs led up to a simple covered porch.

It didn’t boast the stylish architectural details that Fox’s End did, but the porch was sturdy, and it gave the house some character.

I could imagine that if the bugs weren’t so bad it could be relaxing to sit out here and look out over the swamp, gators and all.

I wonder if most people around these parts felt the same way, or if that was just my elemental nature calling to me.

The inside of Joshua’s cabin proved to be surprisingly cozy and nicely furnished. Once again, it was by no means fancy. But everything inside appeared new and clean, well cared for. I didn’t know what exactly I had expected from a man who lived alone in the wilderness like this.

Then again, I supposed I never knew what to expect when it came to Joshua.

“You feed them,” I said suddenly, the thought just occurring to me.

He turned to face me. “What?”

“The gators. You had that box ready to go the second you decided you needed it. And I’m going to guess that there aren’t usually so many of them in one place, either. They’re here because they were waiting for food.”

He regarded me with shining eyes. “You don’t know what the phrase ‘hitting on’ means, but you’re an expert in gator behavior now?”

“Call it good instincts.” I offered him a closed-lip smile.

Joshua held up his hands in surrender and chuckled. “I feed ’em because I like ’em. Besides that, if I give them food, they’re less likely to attack me should I ever decide to take a swim myself.”

I smiled at this, and for some reason that seemed to annoy Joshua all the more.

“What?” he bit out.

I shrugged. “I mean, you’re feeding swamp monsters and going out of your way to help Lorraine. I can’t believe how nice people in Elyria are.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Ha, you just wait until you meet Art.”