Husband Wanted (HC #1)

26: The Confrontation in the Woods

The following morning was filled with shadowed eyes, heavy silence, and an unspoken fear of arriving late. This was compounded when Phil insisted that she was joining them. Then it became a very spoken fear.

"We will be late if we do not leave immediately, Simon," Bart said from atop his large, white horse, looking down his nose at his elder brother who was kneeling in the dust debating with an eight-year-old. Phil's arms were crossed firmly over her chest.

"You heard, Bart," she said, trying to step around her brother. "We must saddle my horse at once!"

Simon caught her waist easily and pulled her back in front of him. "For the last time, Phil, you are not accompanying us." The barest hint of a crack in his immeasurable patience was clear in the edge to his voice. Behind him, Matt couldn't help but grin.

Phil heard the tone too, and her eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

Simon was not short on reasons. Had he more time, he might have described that the situation they were riding into might be a trap, or the discussion might devolve into violence. He might have told her that it would be no place for a child, and that having her there would distract them all and potentially submit them to further harm.

Instead, he said; "I need you to look after Beth. She's most upset today, and I need someone I can trust keeping an eye on her."

Phil squinted at him. "Really?"

He nodded solemnly.

He could tell she was softening, even as her hands moved to clench on her hips. "This better not be because I'm a girl, Simon!"

Whatever composure Matt had held behind him dissolved, and he almost fell off his horse with raucous laughter. "You can't come because you're a child, you ninny!"

Simon made a mental reminder to slap that brother later as he watched the tension come back into Phil's shoulders. "That's not how I might have said it," he interjected quickly before she thought to lunge at the man. "But it is true that you are too young, Phil. I promise, it has nothing to do with your sex."

As she considered him long and hard, Simon wondered whether his words were entirely accurate. If she were Beth's age, would he protest her accompanying them? Probably, he was somewhat embarrassed to admit.

Eventually, Phil nodded. "Fine. I'll look after Beth. But if one of you gets killed, I'll never forgive you!" There was a short pause in which Simon could just see the faintest quiver in her lower lip, before she flung herself forwards and wrapped her arms around him. Just as quickly, before he could even return the hug, she pulled herself away and stomped back inside their home.

The men watched her leave with differing expressions of affection and amusement.

Simon stood with a sigh of relief, turning to the men behind him. "Perhaps it would be wiser if one of us stayed behind?" His gaze drifted to Vincent of its own volition.

His brother looked back at him.

And then he turned and smoothly mounted his horse.

Now the only one not on horseback, Simon shrugged. "Or perhaps not."

The map had indicated a distant part of the forest that bordered the Humphrey estate. It had seemed a peculiar choice, but the further they rode, the more they understood. During hunting season the woods might have been alive with activity, but in the peak of summer they stood abandoned. The terrain was uneven and treacherous, eliminating riding for sport or pleasure, and as a few dark clouds gathered on the horizon, even the most perseverant of adventurers were preferring to stay indoors.