“You have a lovely home,” Keegan said.
His father replied, “Thank you, I have not
changed a thing since my wife passed away.”
Ah, that made sense
. “Well, she had great taste.
He smiled warmly at her. "She would have
loved to have met you."
Keegan's face flushed. "Thank you, that means
a lot.”
Rourk appeared from the hallway and her heart
skipped a beat. Would she ever get used to his overwhelming beauty?
He wasn’t beautiful in the conventional way. His face looked
rugged, angled with eyes that were confident. He looked exactly
like what he was, a warrior. She could not believe he was all
hers.
His eyes met hers, and a smile spread across
his face. He quickly glanced at his dad. “I’ll see you in a couple
of days.”
Rourk grabbed Keegan’s hand, and she looked
up. He was much taller than she expected—not that she was
complaining; in her eyes, he was perfection.
They quickly descended the steps toward the
vehicle. She felt like jumping up and down over her excitement for
the weekend. They had no idea, where they were headed, or how long
it would take. Not that it mattered, as long as they were
together.
During the drive, Keegan asked Rourk tons of
questions. Talking a mile a minute she wanted to know everything
about him.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“Green.”
“Really? Green is my favorite color too.”
Her father turned towards them. “Keegan, I
think green is a very common favorite color for elves.” She stuck
her tongue out at him and continued on drilling Rourk.
“Glass half empty or half full?”
“That would depend on how thirsty I am.” He
smiled at her while she thought of his answer.
“Very clever, I’ve never heard that reply
before.” She leaned her head on his shoulder and they lapsed into a
comfortable silence. Keegan looked out the window, wishing they
could stop. She wanted to take some photos of the breathtaking
scenery. She knew it was more important to get to their
destination.
The drive took a couple of hours. Finally,
her father turned down a narrow, winding road. Rourk laughed when
Keegan gripped tighter on his arm as her father made a swift turn.
Richard was a crazy driver. She would be glad when they could get
out and walk. Twenty minutes later, they turned into a hidden
driveway.
Keegan was excited; she loved going new
places. It felt like they were going on a grand adventure. Ever
since she was little, her family had traveled across the world and
she was always excited to see new places. Even though they weren’t
that far from their home, it felt as if they were driving into a
hidden oasis.
“Have you guys been here before?” she asked.
She noticed the look passing between her parents. Both had secret
smiles on their faces.
“Yes, we’ve been here,” her mom answered.
“Out of all the places we have been this is our favorite. We
planned to keep it a secret from everyone. This is not the exact
spot. We usually come to a much smaller one-room cabin.”
They stopped, and her father said, “We walk
from here, so grab your things.”
They hiked up the rugged terrain and Keegan
felt like she’d stepped into a magical wonderland. The scenery was
stunning with rolling green hills and sparkling sunshine that stole
through the canopy to illuminate the flora on the ground. Keegan
grabbed her camera out of the bag and started snapping pictures.
Even though elves had adapted to living among human civilization,
they were still most at home in nature. She stopped and inhaled the
fragrance of the wildflowers scattered around her.
“Mom, do you know the name of this flower?”
Keegan asked, bending down to train the lens of her camera on a
beautiful lavender flower.
“No, sorry. I always forget the names,”
Emerald answered, coming to a stop to wait for her daughter.
“Well, this is a dwarf iris. It’s named after
the goddess of the rainbow. It’s also the Tennessee state
flower.”
“Why did you ask if you already knew the
answer?” Her mother asked, exchanging an amused look with her
husband.
“Well, you’re always right, so I wanted to
throw something out there that I knew you didn’t know.” Keegan
looked up from her camera and gave her a devious smile. Rourk
chuckled.
“That sounds like something your father would
do,” Emerald sighed, rolling her eyes. She gave Rourk a sympathetic
look. “Rourk, you have to watch this girl.”
“I’ll be sure to put her in her place when
it’s needed,” he said, amused.
Richard laughed and placed a hand on Rourk’s
shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
They walked deeper into the woods, and it
appeared as though snow was covering the forest floor. That was not
the case; it was the lovely spring beauty flower that blanketed the
ground. Keegan couldn’t help herself; she stooped once more to the
ground, lifting her camera to catch the sea of white.
Richard glanced over at Rourk, whose gray
eyes were trained on Keegan with a look that bordered on adoration.
“You better get used to this, son. It takes two to three times
longer to get anywhere with her when she has the camera in
hand.”
Looking amused, Rourk said, “I would wait
forever for her.”
Keegan was lost in her photography and missed
the exchange.
Emerald nudged Keegan. “We need to quicken
our pace if we’re to get there before nightfall. You’ll have plenty
of time to explore the forest tomorrow.”
Reluctantly, she put her camera away and
wondered how much further they had to go. They kept ascending the
trails, if one could call them that. She hoped her father hadn’t
gone off the path and gotten them lost. Her muscles ached. They’d
been trekking a long time.
Unexpectedly she heard the tranquil sound of
water splashing against rocks. A waterfall must be close by. She
squeezed Rourk’s hand.
“Dad, can we please find the waterfall?”
Glancing behind him, he threw over his
shoulder, “You’re in luck. We’re headed in that direction. We are
almost to the cabin.”
They hiked another 400 meters or so and then
her father abruptly turned off the path and into the woods. Keegan
glanced around.
Oh
great, we are lost
. The sun was setting, and she was
starting to get worried. She glanced up at Rourk; he looked
completely at ease but focused. He had complete confidence in her
father. Rourk was constantly preventing her from getting smacked in
the face with branches. She saw her father pushing his way through
a huge portion of bushes. This was ridiculous; she could feel
herself getting annoyed. It was no longer fun—she was sore and
tired.
Just when she was about to say something to
her father, she was stunned into silence. Hidden behind the
shrubbery was a wooden swing bridge. She grasped hold of the rope
and tentatively stepped onto the wooden slats. It swayed, and when
she looked down, she felt a rush of adrenaline run through her. She
hadn’t realized how high they had climbed. She felt like running
across the bridge, but her parents were walking in front of them.
Reaching back, she grabbed her camera out of the bag. The bridge
was narrow, so they had to go in a single-file line. She got some
great shots of Rourk and her parents. She wished she’d brought a
larger lens. The distance to the ground was so far away, she was
not going to be able to do it justice. This was definitely worth
the time it took to get there.
Once they made it across her father promised
it was not much farther. Thankfully, he was telling the truth.
Nestled in the woods like something out of a
fairy tale was a rustic cabin. The boards were so weathered they
were gray and looked old and run-down. Beds of brilliantly colored
flowers were overflowing the front yard while the leaves of the
forest behind the cabin shone in the sunshine. A single gravel
pathway led to the front door, where her mom retrieved a key that
was hidden under some rocks.
Keegan was speechless as she walked through
the door. The outside might have looked decrepit, but the inside
was immaculate. It felt like she’d walked into a page of a
magazine.
It was modern and simplistic. The front door
opened into a central great room, with a ceiling that peaked
overhead and a wall that was dominated by a large fireplace built
of river stones. A couch and several armchairs of brown leather
occupied the room. The hardwood floors were dark with unusually
wide planks.
“What kind of wood is this?” she asked her
dad.
He replied with a look of admiration,
“Hand-scraped oak.”
Grabbing Rourk’s hand, Keegan pulled him to
the couch and sunk onto the leather. She wanted to explore the rest
of the cabin, but her feet were killing her. A small sigh escaped
her lips as she leaned her head against Rourk’s shoulder. “This is
what I want our home to look like.”
***
Keegan woke up with a blanket on her, and the
house smelled wonderful. It took her a moment to realize where she
was; it always a little disorienting to wake up in a strange place.
Smiling, she remembered that she was at the cabin with Rourk. She
needed to find him. They only had a short amount of time together,
and she had wasted some of it on a nap. What was she thinking?
Keegan walked in the kitchen wiping the sleep
from her eyes and again was struck by the simple beauty. She would
not have guessed a modern kitchen waited behind the door of the
seemingly run-down cabin. Keegan had never seen anything like the
flooring. It felt as if she were walking on a large flat rock.
There were a variety of size and colors, and the texture felt
wonderful on her bare feet. The ceilings were made with the same
wood as the floor in the living room, and the appliances were all
stainless steel and looked like they were professional grade. What
surprised her most was the sight of Rourk standing over the stove,
something she would have never dreamed of; and yet he made it look
completely natural.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” Keegan
asked.
Rourk turned to her with a wide grin. “I see
someone finally decided to wake up.”
Giving him a sleepy smile, she threw her arms
around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. She could
feel his powerful muscles beneath his shirt. “What are you
making?”
He ran his hands through her hair sending
chills down her spine. “Well, I was going to make some rare steaks,
but Emerald informed me that you are a vegetarian.” He had a
perplexed look on his face. “So I went with spaghetti, homemade
sauce and garlic bread. The cabinets and refrigerator are stocked
with everything you could think of.”
She inhaled the incredible aroma of garlic,
tomatoes, and other spices.
“To answer the question you asked earlier,
after my mother died it was either I learned to cook, or we lived
on frozen pizza and canned ravioli.”
Keegan could not imagine what it would be
like growing up without her mom, and she felt a pang of empathy for
him. “I’m sure your mother would be proud of the way you turned
out,” she said.
Rourk stared down at her with a look of
gratitude. “She would have loved to meet you. Anyway, let’s change
the subject.”
At that moment, her parents came through the
door. Keegan couldn’t help but smile. Her parents complimented each
other so well. Just one look at them together and you knew they
were meant to be. She wondered if she and Rourk looked like
that.
Her dad said, “Is the food ready yet? I am so
hungry I could eat a horse. However, my daughter might object to
that.”
Everyone except Keegan found his remark
funny.
The food was incredible, and her parents
didn’t hang out long after the table was cleared. Her mom told them
where their rooms were with a look of warning and reminded that
they were to stay in separate rooms.
Rourk looked insulted. “I would never do
anything to harm your daughter’s honor.”
Emerald gave him a knowing look. “It’s not
you I’m worried about.”
Keegan was horrified. “Mom, get out of
here.”
They stayed up most of the night wanting to
learn everything about the other and both gave condensed stories of
their lives along with their likes and dislikes. They found they
had a lot in common.
Keegan glanced into his steady grey eyes.
“Aren’t you worried that this feels too easy? I was expecting lots
of awkward moments when we met.”
Rourk smiled at her, his strong hands wrapped
around hers. “I expected it to be exactly like this. My father once
explained to me what it was like when you meet your chosen partner.
He said your chosen partner was an extension of yourself. That
without your partner, you’re only half of the person you are meant
to be. When you connect with them, you finally feel complete. Until
that moment, there was always a feeling that something was missing,
but you can’t put your finger on it. Even though we’re individuals,
it’s as if we are one. Of course, we’re not always going to agree
with each other. We’ll have different views on things. A perfect
example is the fact that you are a vegetarian. That makes no sense
to me. Because that’s what you want, I’d go out of my way to make
sure your needs are met. Chosen partners see the best in each other
and help to bring it out.”
Keegan looked over, a little uncertain before
she spoke. “I find it a little unsettling knowing I would do
anything for you. I would give up everything to make you
happy.”
He crossed the distance between them to place
a slow kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he told her, “Keegan, I’d
never ask you or even allow you to give up anything for me. I feel
the same about you. If you told me you didn’t want me to be a
soldier, I would reluctantly do as you wished.”
She was startled at the suggestion. “I would
never ask that from you. That’s who you are, and I would never take
your identity away.”