Chapter Eight
“Tansy,” Caylan’s voice whispered as he gave her a gentle nudge.
“Five more minutes,” Tansy groaned, pulling the covers over her head.
“Tansy, I need to go see someone today. I need you to come with me, please,” Caylan nudged again.
Tansy sat up and glared up at the shirtless man beast, “Fuck off. Do you realize how long it’s been since I slept in a bed?”
Caylan chuckled, “If you get up know and get ready, I promise to let you take a nap in said bed when we get back.”
“Fine,” Tansy grumbled as she slipped out of bed.
Handing her a cup of coffee, Caylan smiled down at her, “Didn’t know if I’d find you here this morning or not. Figured you might’ve tried to slip out the window while I was talking to Jed last night.”
“That bed is the best thing I’ve slept on in entirely too long. I decided to stick around so I could enjoy it,” Tansy shrugged, smiling back at him teasingly.
“I see how it is.”
“So what did your friend want?”
“To give me some more intel that he’s been gathering from my community in the Pravus,” Caylan said, as he pulled the covers up to make the bed.
“I see. So I didn’t dream any of that conversation last night then, I take it?”
“Afraid not,” Caylan’s mouth formed a thin line.
“I was worried you were gonna say that.”
“Still thinking of skipping town on me?”
Tansy sighed and looked down at her feet, “I had thought about before you told me everything last night. Things are different now. You aren’t just some weird guy thinking I’m some weak woman hiding in the woods. You’re a guy with meaning and a mission. A mission that apparently I’m a part of, whether I want to be or not. Besides, I have a feeling if I did try to skip town, you’d follow me like a little puppy.”
As he tried to hide his excitement about her staying, he chuckled, “You’re probably right.”
“So where are we going today then?” Tansy asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
“We need to go see a man named Crew. I’ve got a few questions for him and he’s the only one that can answer them. Plus, I’m sure you have some questions you’d like to be answered too,” Caylan explained as he headed for the kitchen.
Tansy followed him out to the kitchen table and set her now empty coffee cup down, “So, uh, where did you sleep last night?”
“Don’t worry, I slept out here. I figured you might try to kill me if I came and laid down in my bed with you asleep in it,” he teased.
“Smart move, fox boy.”
“Survival of the fittest right? How dumb would I be to crawl into bed with a sleeping huntress?”
Tansy laughed, “So what’s for breakfast?”
“Well, we never ate dinner last night since you fell asleep. So maybe we should eat that.”
Frowning, Tansy asked, “Could we have toast instead?”
“I never took you for the picky type.” Caylan mused.
“I’m not. I just have issues eating dinner for breakfast.”
“What about breakfast for dinner?”
Tansy grinned, “That is amazing.”
“How is that any different than having dinner for breakfast?” he scoffed.
Shrugging, Tansy laughed again, “It just is. The sooner you learn to accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
“Whatever you say, oh Mighty Tansy,” Caylan bowed to her mockingly.
“That’s right, bow to the queen!”
“You’re a lot funnier when you aren’t all murdery,” Caylan smiled, taking the bread out of the cupboard with the toaster.
Tansy rolled her eyes, “I don’t trust people easily. My mama always told me to move like the devil is on my heels.”
“I wonder why she said that.”
“I have no clue. It is was one of the things she always told me as a child. It was also one of the last things she ever told me before she passed away.”
Caylan set a piece of buttered toast with cinnamon sugar in front of her and refilled her coffee as he asked, “What was she like?”
“She was kind and gentle, the exact opposite of me in so many ways. Always protective of me though. Called me her special girl. She made the best comfort foods. Told me she had to try and make me put weight on, but no matter how much she fed me, I was always scrawny. I think I miss her chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes the most,” Tansy smiled. “She was a good one. I wish she was still here.”
“Sounds like quite the woman. Must’ve had her hands full with a spitfire like you.”
“Ha! That’s an understatement. I ran that poor woman ragged trying to take care of me. I never listened. I’ve always been headstrong and independent,” Tansy laughed. “One time, when I was about thirteen, I remember telling her that she didn’t need to drive me to school, that I could walk myself the eight miles to get there. She followed me until mile four and then made me get in the car. Told me I was going to be late.”
“Stubborn woman. You can’t ever seem to let anyone help you, can you?” Caylan mused.
Tansy picked at the toast in front of her, “No, not really. To be honest, she was the only one who made me feel like I wasn’t invisible until I was an adult. I didn’t have a lot of friends because my personality is too strong. It was off-putting to people that I was so strong willed and outgoing, plus I always felt like I had to be in charge and that didn’t help any either. I just wanted to belong, until I didn’t want to anymore. Joining the military didn’t help with the invisibility issue either. Then I came home to take care of her when the cancer got too hard for her to fight. After she passed away, I ran. I’ve been on the run ever since. The way she told me to keep moving had sent chills up my spine, like she was warning me away from something I couldn’t see. She had told me so many times before to run, but never like this. So here I am, still on the run.”
“So stop running,” Caylan said as he reached across the table and brushed her cheek. “Find the person that can look you in the eyes and remind you that they can see you. Give that person your everything, your all of you. When you do, I promise that person will give you their everything too.”
Tansy breathed in his scent as she rubbed her face over the back of his hand. Somehow she knew he was right, but wasn’t sure if she was quite ready to stop running yet.
“I’m gonna go change into something comfortable. Finish up your breakfast then you’ll see your clothes are already waiting in the bathroom for you to change,” Caylan said, breaking away from the tender moment they had been sharing.
“Right, okay. See you in a few,” Tansy said, trying to center herself after the affectionate exchange.
Sitting at the table as she finished her breakfast, she found herself wondering how many layers were to Caylan. After all, how many layers could a man like that have?