Distract and Sedate H.S

Chapter Twenty Four

He did his best to cover it. But every so often I glanced his way and there was a little twitch in his lips. It was a clear sign he was developing a nervous tick from all these lies, all the built in emotion.

I stood beside him on the front porch. A few small birds were perched on a shrub not far away, chirping little conversations across the garden. I had quickly gotten over my fear of birds being here. I had grown to love their harmonies in the mornings.

Darcy was sitting on the grass next to the black lab soaking up the sun happily. I almost smiled at the sight.

Harry, however, was clutching a coffee cup to his hands and staring into the picturesque outdoors blindly. I watched his large palms shape over the steaming mug I had brought for him. The coffee was shaking in the cup like a stormy sea; his fingers were trembling too.

I lifted my gaze to his tight jaw, hard eyes. Accustomed to the new Harry, the Harry that could look at you with warmth and maybe even gentility, I didn't like to see that strong stare again. He had had it when we first met, so closed off and lonely. I hated it actually.

"How are you feeling?"

He sniffed and took a sip of the coffee. I could never understand how he drank it so hot.

"Fine."

He looked over at me and I sighed at the intensity of his eyes. "Your m-"

Jeffrey came out from the side gate on a tall grey horse. I shut my mouth and crept behind Harry as he rode up. His muscular arm wrapped around my side and I felt his chuckle vibrate through his ribs.

"I'll keep you safe from them, remember?"

"How did that go?" I grumbled. His smile faded and he raised his head to Jeffrey. The horse's large hooves halted at the porch steps, right in front of us.

"Are you coming out to the dip, Harold? You should be supervising the cattle herding."

"You're going now?" he asked. His eyes dropped to me momentarily as Jeff called out a yes.

"Can you look after Darcy until I get back?" he murmured. I saw Jeff roll his eyes over Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Once Harry had disappeared behind the side of the house I sent Jeffrey a careful glance. His face remained neutral and he galloped away out of the gates.

I slumped down next to Darcy and fell back onto the soft grass. "Daddy's gone to some farming thing," I muttered. She huffed as she rolled onto her back beside me.

She began to giggle to herself.

"What is it, fairy?"

She burst into her little laughter episode. It happened quite a lot. I just listened with a chuckle.

"I can't tell you," she sneered.

"Well now you have to tell me."

"Why?" she asked inquisitively.

"Because if you say there's something to tell me I want to know. Then you have to tell me," I explained.

She nodded her small head beside mine. "Oh, o-okay."

"So, what is it?" She would probably jump into a story about a pixie and a rabbit.

"But Daddy made me promise," she whispered lazily. I lifted up my arm to shield the sun and looked over at her.

Options as follows: Support trust and keeping to your word. Do not press. Or... Manipulate a four year old into giving you possibly valuable information.

Her gold hair was shimmering in the sunlight magnificently, her eyes shut before the bright sky. Without saying anything myself, her mouth opened eagerly.

"Daddy said he loved you..."

My arm dropped.

"He said I mustn't tell."

My lips shivered at this. My brain went hazy. "H-he said that?"

"Yep."

"Really?"

"Yes!" She giggled, but it sounded distant.

"What, exactly, did he say?"

She sighed, throwing her arms over her head and onto the long grass. "That he loved you."