Page 30 of Severed Heart (The Ravenhood Legacy #2)

Chapter Twenty-One

D ELPHINE

A FTER MAKING MY move, I glance over at Tyler, who stares through his dwindling battalion, showing no signs of animation.

Typically capable of concealing any despair, I can’t help but recognize the thinly veiled sting in the beautiful soul sitting across from me.

Unable to handle any more of his radiating, silent pain, I force him to speak.

“Soldier,” I whisper in a slight scold, “you just lost four men and are about to lose more.”

His lifeless eyes snap to mine. “Shit, yeah.” He exhales heavily, glancing down at his newly weakened formation. “Sorry.”

When he makes a counter move, I make my own. “You just lost twelve more men with your absence of mind. Apologize to them and to the families that will mourn them.”

“I . . .” He shifts in his seat. “My head’s not in it today.”

“No need to point obvious to me.” His lips lift slightly, letting me know I misspoke another metaphor.

“You must realize this is the whole point?” I ask.

“To put aside all else. This will not be a convenience you have in any battle or on any day in your Marines. That is”—I position a soldier while giving him a pointed look—“if you’re still imbecile enough to sign up for another man’s army. ”

“Counting down the days.” He lifelessly returns fire, unwilling to spar with me in our ongoing fight. It’s been our only real battle thus far—one I am determined to win. But seeing the defeat in him today, I decide against making his distracting pain any more of a teaching moment.

“Fine, we can resume our game later,” I relay as my eyes catch on the filtering rays that start to cascade through the living room window. A notion strikes as I glance back over to Tyler, who stares intently at one of his soldiers, seeming to search the plastic figure for what answers he seeks.

“The day is still very young. Maybe—” I again glance toward the brightening window before making my request. “Will you maybe consider ... taking me to fish?”

His face animates instantly in confusion at my suggestion, and I chortle at his reaction. “Sean and Dom say your family has land and that you fish there.”

“Not so much lately, but yeah, there’s a catfish pond.”

“Which you never told me of.” He cocks his head curiously as if disbelieving of my interest. “I wish to see it.”

He furrows his brows. “You like fishing?”

“You don’t know your opponent very well,” I scold in jest.

“Because honestly, it’s kind of shocking.” He considers me. “You truly want to go?”

“Do you have poles and bait?”

“Hell yeah, I do.” He stands from the table, the severity of his posture visibly relaxing by a fraction.

“Then I wish to go,” I tell him, rising from my chair.

“It’s an apple orchard, to be more specific,” he relays.

“Is there privacy?”

“Two hundred acres enough?”

My eyes bulge. “You say your family is mostly military?”

“Most of them.” He nods. “Why?”

“Then bring guns and ammunition too.” I stand as he gawks at me.

“Seriously, you want to fish and shoot guns ?”

“You truly don’t know much of your opponent, private. It’s disappointing.”

“Not for lack of trying, Fort Knox ,” he jokes. “You’re not planning on shooting the fish , are you? Because that’s not how we do it around here.”

“So funny. Ha-ha.” I roll my eyes. “I’m going to change.”

Once dressed, he follows me out of the front door, holding the screen as I lock it. The twist of the key has me recalling the night I first took notice of Ezekiel’s compulsion—a nervous compulsion that started not long after Celine and Beau were killed. Three times. Always three times.

“Hey, where did you go?” Tyler asks, preventing me from getting lost in the sting the memory causes. An act he practices often and effectively, which only stokes my intent to return the favor.

“Is this okay?” I point to the tank shirt, overall shorts, and brown boots I found in my closet before I quickly braided my hair.

He scratches his head, the motion seeming unnatural as he scans my dress and nods. “You’re perfect,” he utters, the words coming out strained. “So, if we’re taking a field trip,” he adds quickly, does this mean I’ve advanced to private first class?”

“Not by a fraction .”

“Jesus, General,” he sighs, “your army is fucking brutal .”

“As it should be.” I shrug. “No soldier advances in my army without justcation.”

“Justification,” he corrects.

“Right.” I nod.

At the top of the porch steps, Tyler animates, reporting that he doesn’t fish as much anymore because his previous ‘fishin’ buddy,’ and cousin, Barrett, has become ‘distracted by the ladies.’ It’s then I know his mind has drifted back from the place he was lost in, and his heart now beats lighter.

As if reading my thoughts, he pauses his footing at the bottom step and turns to look up at me.

Gripping my arm lightly, his sincere whisper and rich brown eyes cover me in their warmth. “Thank you.”

“You deserve a day of RR, private .” I extend my car keys. “Today, you are the boss,” I declare.

“Good with that.” He takes the offering and rounds the car, forced to adjust it to accommodate his height before he can get into the driver’s seat. “Jeez, you’re a half-pint.”

“Five foot five is not that short,” I defend.

“It is when you exaggerate your height by an inch or three ,” he says with a wink before turning the ignition and pausing. “So, is this enthusiasm to fish,” he asks in afterthought, “was it just bullshit to get me out of my head, or—”

“Imbecile,” I utter playfully. “You won’t be asking this when I catch and cook your dinner.”

Tyler stops by his house, gathering several supplies and a cooler, which I help load into my car. Though his home is far more inviting in appearance, I know its look is deceiving by the weight he sometimes carries. As he buckles his belt, he turns to me.

“My mom is already at the orchard planting vegetables with my aunt Rhonda and a few others, so we’re going to lay low to try to avoid them.” He bulges his eyes. “I’m already putting a strategy together.”

I frown at his words. “But having much family is good, non?”

His chest pumps ironically. “Depends on which family you’re talking about.”

“This I understand,” I tell him.

“I know you do. I’m just not in the mood to deal with them today,” he explains. I nod again before glancing toward the packed back seat, taking in the plethora of supplies he gathered.

“You are too kind to me, Tyler,” I admit in a soft whisper. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m happy just to fish.”

“I could say the same. You’ve done a lot for me the past six months, and it’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

“As you have done for me, soldier,” I relay honestly. “It’s been a relief to mentor you. It helps to keep me out of here.” I point to my temple. “Which can be a very dangerous place.”

“Seems like we’re pretty good for each other,” he whispers affectionately before leaning over and nudging my shoulder with his. “You’ve kinda become my new best friend, you know?”

My heart stutters at this admission. “This you believe?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” he draws out before frowning. “Am I not yours?”

“I don’t have any friends,” I joke.

“Thanks a lot,” he retorts sarcastically as he grips the seat rest behind my head and glances back to exit the driveway.

As he does, I take in the changes in him—so much more confidence from the shadow-ridden boy who approached me for help last fall.

My chest squeezes at his admission that I might have had something to do with this.

“What, General?” His lips lift slightly as he senses my speculative stare. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m excited to fish.” A half-truth. The other half is that I believe this admission about our friendship. In the months I’ve mentored him, I have spent fewer days lost in my mind—in the haze—while trying to sort my past in the bath and consuming slightly less drink.

As we pull off, I can’t help my excitement in believing again—trying is working.

Several minutes into the drive to the other side of town and after stopping for fresh worms, Tyler turns onto a winding road.

The sudden shift in the atmosphere is jarring as I take in our new surroundings.

Outside our windows, endless evergreens give way to rapidly blooming terrain.

Just ahead, water trickles over two-toned, jagged cliff rock, and a cloudless, neon blue sky hovers above.

“It’s a beautiful day,” I utter, my voice coated by my captivation.

“Very,” Tyler agrees easily next to me. “This was a great idea.”

One last turn has us emerging through a vast opening that gives way to a blindingly beautiful stretch of massive, sprawling green hills.

To either side of us sits endless rows of crooked-branched trees, their blossoms solid white.

The rest of the grounds are blanketed in a colorful array of various blooming bushes and mixed grasses.

The sun lights much of the bright lime-green hillsides, those still shaded in contrast next to them, making the view even more spectacular.

“Mon Dieu!” My God . “Tyler! Is this the land, your family’s land?”

His widening smile pops his dimple. “Yeah, and I actually know a guy who’s about to inherit some of it, but he’s kind of an asshole.”

I frown. “Why is he asshole?”

Smile dimming, he takes his arresting, warm brown eyes from the road and gently rolls them over my face. “Because he didn’t realize his new best friend loves to fish.”

“Tyler! You will own some of this land?” I exclaim, stunned by both our surroundings and his admission.

“Yeah, fifty acres will be signed over to me when I turn eighteen at the end of the summer.”

Utterly enthralled, I get lost in the misty sunrays beaming down upon his family’s orchard as if in blessing. “It is a dream here!”

“Ah, so she’s a sucker for scenery.”

“I suck for what?” I ask in mild confusion as he chuckles at my expense, and I narrow my eyes.

“Don’t raise your sword just yet, General. It means you love nature’s view.”