“She also told me she believes Cody had been working with Pfeiffer for a while before Cody came to be her faerie. That is why she wasn’t able to see what had changed about him. What have you done with Cody’s family? I think he had himself a mate at one time. But I do believe she’s gone.” Aurora told her what had happened to the mate but that he’d had a girlfriend of sorts. “I’m so sorry for that. I didn’t know his mate, but to have been killed by a car is a nasty way to go. I think that will be another thing CJ will be able to teach the little ones. How to avoid being hit by a car. So many are lost that way.”
“I agree. Bancroft is not only setting aside the land for us to use, but he has also gifted the faeries all manner of things they may have. Cardboard being one of the many things they can upcycle. CJ is also taking some of the crafts they make and selling them. The coin they get, it goes to getting specialty items they cannot make. Small cut glass for windows. Also, she is looking for a potter that will make things such as garden bowls for them. I have to admit, I never thought of a small bowl that they could use to put their gardens in. They like to move them around to get the best light in the day.” She said she’d only just heard about it. “There are also things I have never thought of to help with costs. You know as well as I do that they use whatever they can to work with, but some of the gems they find, they’re being made into jewelry to sell. The money will be used for helping families that might have lost someone or when they are being relocated. I wouldn’t have thought that would have been an expense, but CJ not only found out but has made a way for them to have a home when they get to their new area. Do you know how much she’s done without even taking the position she doesn’t know if she wants?”
“Much more than I did.” Aurora told her that’s not what she meant. “No. I know that. I do. But I did nothing to help them. Only kept them working on flowers and seeds. I know that is an important part of our job, but I forgot to look at the entire picture about what they were giving up or going without to work so hard. I know now that I have to be a task maker, but also I need to pay more attention. I believe CJ will help me with that as well.”
They continued to speak for over an hour about what a wonderful job CJ would be doing. Even going over some of the things that Melisandre had been able to take care of. Aurora was a good queen. She was there for a person when they needed it, but she never pulled back when there was something that needed to be said. She liked that most about her.
Also, Aurora was quick to compliment you in front of your peers or workers. But when you needed to be spoken to about something that was wrong, she never did it where others could hear. Not that Aurora had to speak to her behind closed doors often, but when she did, no one was any the wiser about it.
“I must be getting back. I have some paperwork I need to go over before I can speak to them when they return. Don is giving her his support, as I knew he would, but he is leaving the answer up to her. He is a good man.” Melisandre agreed. “Will you contact me if you need anything? Oh, before I forget—too much going on again—you will live here if you wish or in the other realm. It is up to you. It’s doubtful to me that CJ will want to be here anymore than she needs to be. She so enjoys the things the other world can offer her.”
“I would love to live here if you don’t mind.” Aurora told her it was up to her. Melisandre thanked her. “It’s home for me now. I think I would be lost in the other world.”
“As would I.”
After Aurora left, Melisandre settled into her work. The charts she had for planting were all hers, something she’d worked very hard on. Now that she could devote all her time to planting, Melisandre couldn’t be happier.
Chapter 8
Gracie watched the water flow over the dam. She’d been coming here to this spot for years now, and it was always different. Today there were families having a nice day in the warm sunshine with a picnic basket and all. There were dogs, too, playing with their masters and retrieving whatever it was they tossed for them to return. Small and big kids were chasing each other, some of them racing the clouds as well. When someone sat down beside her, she didn’t bother looking. She had an idea she knew just who it was.
“Why anyone would want to eat out of doors is beyond me. Bugs and grass all over a person. And the food is
