“Maybe you should wait?” Michael suggests worriedly.
“I promise not to faint on you, Michael. I just need a minute.” He offers her some more water and then grabs her elbows to help her stand. She sways but manages to start walking slowly. “Perhaps a few laps around the room.” With his help she makes three laps and then he helps her to the bathroom. He starts the bath and fills the room with hot steam. He places towels and wash cloths on the sink.
When he turns to look at her she is leaned against the wall, holding herself upright. “Serenity, this can wait until tomorrow.” He says but she shakes her head no.
“I just need to regain my strength. How long have I been here, Michael?” she asks suddenly.
“Three days,” he answers slowly.
She gasps and let’s go of the wall and begins to tumble forward. He catches her and says, “Ah hell, you promised not to pass out again.” He lifts her like she weighs nothing and sits on the edge of the claw foot tub.
“Michael, why am I here?” she asks clutching him around the waist. Thinking, it sure feels good to be in his arms.
“After your bath, I will let that be your bedtime story. You have fifteen minutes, then I am coming in after you. Unless I hear anything that sounds like drowning.”
“Now hold on Mr…” he stops her with a finger to her pink lips.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be the first time I have seen you naked.” He stands up and leaves laughing at the look of embarrassment on her face. Michael whistles and a large blue eyed dog trots into the bathroom.
“Serenity, this is Baron. He will guard you. If you are in distress he will alert me. Do you need any help undressing?”
Serenity looks at Michael and says in her sweetest southern drawl, “No thank you.” Michael chuckles as he leaves her to her bath. Baron pads over and looks at the water then back at her. “Okay, is everyone in this family so bossy?”
Frustration pushes her to her feet and she pulls her gown off slowly. When she looks in the mirror she is appalled. Dark circles, pale skin, and yellow bruising is still evident. Her leg is throbbing and her hair is a mess. Her head pounds every time she tries to remember what happened. Sinking into the steaming water, she has flashes of wolves.
“Oh, goodness gracious! This is heaven!” Slowly she submerges, allowing the water soak into her bones. After a few seconds she surfaces, and finds two worried blue eyes looking at her.
“Don’t even think about it, Baron,” she snaps splashing at him. He chuffs at her and pads away to curl up on the bathroom rug. Quickly she washes her hair and rinses, then scrubs her body. When she sinks back into the water, Michael pounds on the door. “Five minutes!”
“Tyrant,” she mutters stepping out of the tub. She wraps herself in an oversized towel before wrapping her hair. To her delight she finds a bag, with a pair of silky red pajama pants and matching top, slippers and hair accessories. She quickly dries off and dresses, then runs a comb through her hair and decides to allow it to air dry. The natural waves that have plagued her most of her life have already begun springing up. She scrunches her wet hair, and realizes she is exhausted. Baron rises and nudges her towards the door as though sensing her distress.
“I know, good boy, Baron.” No longer caring what she looks like Serenity opens the door, and finds a small table set for two. Steaming bread bowls filled with soup, and “Coffee,” she moans with lust. She makes a beeline for the table and picks up a cup. Her body is trembling from the effort, and she sips the coffee and decides to curl up in the chair by the fire to wait for Michael.
He finds her dead asleep with Baron at her feet, when he returns. Michael walks over and sighs, looking at the young woman. Gently he lifts her, and she sighs curling into his chest as though she belongs there. He thinks, “While she protects the youngest, who is protecting her?”
He tucks her back into the bed and covers her before returning to the table. Michael sits by the fire to eat while he flips through one of his father’s old books. She is out of the woods now, except for her memory. That might be a problem, how will they convince her she’s in danger, if she can’t remember any of it. Baron walks over and puts his head on Michael’s lap. “Okay, time to feed you and let you out? Good boy, let’s go.” He pads out of the room, leaving Serenity to sleep and opens the door inhaling the crisp frigid air of the North Pole.
“Wonder how serene she will be when she finds out she’s hanging out with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and family, in the North Pole?” The thought of her reactions makes him laugh out loud. His booming laughter echoes across the canyon, and he is reminded of how long it has been since he laughed.
The death of his wife five years ago nearly destroyed him. He loved her but she had never acclimated to the seclusion and cold temperatures. They fought all the time and she thought another child would fix things between them. She died in her sleep, right after Sincere was born. Dr. Chow said it was heart failure, that it could happen when the delivery is difficult and the mother weak. He carried the guilt with him all this time, but now it has to stop. The boys have to come first, he has been blind to how they have been affected. They are
