“Yes, you should. I’m not sure how it will be received. She’s spoken kindly of you and asked me not to make a fuss. Mia blames your behavior change on the blast and the GSD. She likes working with you. I can’t protect her the way you have.”
“I’m not sure I want to anymore.”
“That’s a shame. Take some time. Work the farm, and as you are making up your mind, remember to weigh all the good against the bad. Mia doesn’t need you. She faced down a demon that the fallen were all afraid of and won all by herself. But I think she would rather have you at her side. Not fawning over her, but as an equal. She made sure Burt kept your job open for you. She was kind to Fergus and me. She offered us a place here as long as we want it. Fergus and I have this yen to see the west. The Callens may join us on some ghost-mine investigations. You’re welcome to come, son.”
“I appreciate that,” Murphy said.
It didn’t escape Mia that Kevin took Murphy off into the woods. She sighed. She really wanted to get the initial confrontation over with, but she had plenty to do. It would have to wait.
“Mom, Dad!” Dieter called, running out of the farmhouse.
Dieter shook Ted’s hand and scooped up Mia and swung her around. “I missed you so much! Guess what, Mark made varsity!”
“That’s wonderful!” Mia said.
“Murphy came back. He’s like a robot. You’ll see. He’s as dry as toast.”
“Put your mother down,” Ted said. “She’s not a bag of potatoes.”
Dieter did so and walked over to help Mason unpack the truck.
“If you want to go and see him…”
“No, I don’t,” Mia said quickly. “Let’s get this stuff put away, and then I’m going to use all the hot water to shower away the stench of the trip.”
~
The large monitor in the office was set up for the Martins’ Skype call to Wyoming. Brian stood waiting until someone behind the computer said it was time to talk.
“Mom! Grandpa and I found some groundstones, pottery, and projectile points.”
“Projectile points?”
“That’s what Grandpa calls things like spearheads.”
“Oh, thanks for telling me. Did Varden behave?”
“Sickly so.”
“He was ill?” Mia asked quickly.
“No, he was so good that Amanda kept calling him her little darling. Barf.”
“I think the word he was looking to use was saccharin,” Cid said, walking by, carrying equipment from the van he had brought back from the sailboat.
“Did you hear that?” Mia asked Brian.
“Tell Cid that, no, Varden was sincerely sweet not artificially so,” Brian corrected.
“Good to know. Here comes your dad. I’m going to let you men talk,” Mia said. “I can’t wait until you come home.”
“Me too!” Brian said.
Mia walked out into the workshop. “Cid, I don’t understand. What’s your problem with me?” Mia asked.
Cid turned around. “How can you cast Murphy aside so easily?”
“First, you claim I have a broken heart, and now you tell me I have no heart. Make up your damn mind! When you do, then I’ll talk to you, but put this in that pedantic mind of yours: I love Ted with my whole being, and I’m not going to let anything past, present, or future get in the way of my relationship with him. Do you know how blessed I am to have a man like him? Someone supportive, loving, funny, and brings out the best in me. Cid, I’m not living in a cloud of self-delusion. I’m very aware of the toll my extracurricular activities take on him. But he rarely complains. If he does, I try to understand.”
“Mia,” Ted interrupted. “I’m sorry, but Varden wants to see his mommy.”
Mia pushed past Cid and ran into the office, wiping her tears off her face with her hands.
Ted stood staring at Cid a moment before speaking, “Did you have to upset her?”
“No, she did that on her own,” Cid said.
“She trusts you. I think in a strange way she loves you. I don’t see the attraction. You’re handsome, skilled, smart, funny, and loyal. Who the hell wants that around?” Ted said. “Figure out what is keeping you from resuming your friendship with her and then discuss it. I know she ambushed you, and you weren’t ready to talk about it, but she has been feeling that you’re punishing her. She needs to know why.”
“She’s keeping secrets,” Cid said.
“You mean about how Murphy all but seduced her on the porch with my son sitting there?”
“How did you know that?”
“We talked about it. She was honest enough to tell me she didn’t know what to do. I told her to think on it for a while. I couldn’t answer for her. Remember how horribly I behaved when someone was seducing me? Do you think I’m going to pin an A on her chest because of Murphy? She will always love him, even if she’s fooling herself now. But she loves me more. I’m not as obtuse as you all think I am. I see it in everything she does: when she hesitates before indulging Mike in some devilry and when she apologizes for being called by Michael. I mean, can you see Moses apologizing to his spouse for spending time on the mountain with God?”
“No.”
“She’s afraid of losing me. I see it in her eyes just before she leaves. I also see the rush of gratitude that I’m here when she gets back. When she said I was her everything, she meant it.”
“She’s wearing a gold chain, you never could afford,” Cid said.
“It’s Abigor’s. I think, by wearing it, she’s protecting something… I don’t want to guess, because it’s a secret that she feels needs to stay
