Page 39 of Torin and His Oath (Torin and the Princess #2)

“It’s a musical called The Thirteen Colonies .

” She put down her menu. “I’m having the burrito.

” She added, “It’s absolutely ridiculous how bad it’s going to be, not one kid can sing, no one can act, none of the parents can sew.

The costumes are going to be pillowcases with a note safety-pinned to the back that says who they are supposed to be.

I should be fired, seriously. I’m putting you each down for ten tickets. ”

I laughed. “Of course, I’ll be there. You make it sound great.”

Cooper said, “I wouldn’t miss it, but not sure I can afford to buy nine extra tickets. I’m in between things, as you know.”

She said, “Speaking of, Cooper, what’s your plan?”

He cut his eyes to me. “Well my plan was to win Lexi back, but that’s not working.”

I shook my head.

Then he teased, “Even after watching my muscles ripple while I built the stables? Did you notice I took my shirt off? Pretty great, am I right? You miss me, Lexi?”

I said, “I do miss you, I do… I have loved you for a long time, you’re family, and yes, your muscles rippled. But I’m in a place right now where everything is upended and I don’t want to be in a relationship…”

He shook his head. “We do not need to re-litigate this, Lexi. I know where you stand. And I know why. I knew as soon as I came home from the meeting, that we were over.”

I said, “You’re still blaming Torin?”

“No, to be honest, I knew before he ever showed up. The whole way home from my meeting I was thinking about how much I didn’t want to tell you about what had happened, because I was embarrassed?—”

Jen said, “Should I be here? Maybe I should let you guys talk.”

He said, “No, I’m just saying that Lexi is right. I was not behaving like someone who was in a relationship. I wasn’t starting the business for us, I was doing everything for me.”

Jen raised her brow. “Wow.”

He exhaled. “And I’m really sorry about that.”

I said, “Thank you, Cooper, that means a lot to me.” The waitress came up, took our order, and left with our menus. I poured some more margarita into my glass from the pitcher.

He exhaled, “But now my plan is to get a job. I have a lead?—”

Jen clapped, “Good! What is it?”

“Andrew’s getting me work with his dad?—”

I frowned. “Construction, Coop? Really?”

“It’s all good. If I work with them, I can barter their help for building on my land. It’s gonna be fine, and just til I get my feet back under me.” He drank from his margarita. “The good part is I’ll be able to get out of the back-shack. Andrew has a room, I’m moving in there tomorrow.”

“Are you sure ? This is just...” I huffed. “You had such a big plan. This sounds so…”

He narrowed his eyes, “What? What are you going to say, Lexi? I’m trying to do what you said, move on. I know it’s not great, but it’s what I’m going to do.”

I said, “Yeah, I’m sorry, you’re right. I was about to lecture you and that’s not cool.”

“It’s not. Please don’t. It’s hard enough to go from having a Big Plan to being an employee, but I need to do it. I’m actually looking forward to it. It’ll be fun to bang nails with Andrew again, like being back in college.”

Jen laughed. “Funny that college to you is carpentry,. For almost all the rest of us it was book learning.”

He shrugged. “I had to put myself through college. I wasn’t rich like you guys.”

“None of us are as rich as Lexi. She’s royalty money.”

I said, “I guess I’m picking up the tab…?”

“Of course.” Then she asked, “So, I’ve been wondering, where does the money come from, really? ”

“I don’t know, it’s a trust, it goes very far back. I don’t even know where or how to trace it, it’s just always been there.”

“Weird.”

I nodded.

I cut my eyes at Coop and then said, “Last night I looked up Torin and Max with my genealogy search.”

Jen leaned forward with her eyes wide. “I didn’t even think of doing that! What did you find?”

“…I found mention of a man with the same last name as Torin, Elphinstone, in Dollar, some part of Clackmannanshire, I think, if I remember it right. And that’s where Castle Glume is.

The year is 1620 though. So that’s confusing…

but no mention of Max or Maximillian at all.

” I looked around. “Sorry, that was a little stream of consciousness, I was researching a lot.”

“So no Torin or Max?”

I shook my head. “Kind of disappointing. I searched for a long time, the closest I got was a man named Elphinstone, with no first name, and not the right year…”

Jen said, “Well, that’s not good.”

Cooper just raised his brow as he drank a sip of margarita. “Maybe you learned something. Maybe, just maybe, this proves the story doesn’t quite fit.”

I said, “Maybe… but 1558 is very far back, you know. There aren’t many records, at least not compared to now, and they tend to be scattered, hard to find.

That man, Elphinstone, was a dead end, there weren’t any ancestors I could find, it was frustrating…

But I guess if I think about it, at least there were no death dates. ”

Jen said, “Oh, yeah, I hadn’t thought of that, good news, right?”

“Yeah, most of the genealogical research is finding the grave, the death record, the churchyard location. If those don’t exist, it’s like the people don’t exist.”

Coop said, “Maybe they’re not from that time.”

“They’re from that time, I was there in that time. I know it.”

Jen said, “But they’re time travelers! Maybe they didn’t die there, maybe they died in another place all together.”

I frowned. “Yeah, but that’s distressing, I prefer to think that they are time traveling, still alive, and that’s why there isn’t a record.”

Cooper said, “I hate repeating myself, but you just met him.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want anyone I know to die, so don’t read too much into it, Coop. I’m just glad there wasn’t a death date, there’s been enough of that in my life.”

He said, “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

Our food was delivered and we set about eating our dinner.

Then Jen asked, “Why do you think he hasn’t come back? He was coming every day, why not now?”

“I don’t know.”

Torin was gone, I just had to get used to it.