gone back to the field and continued working, but she suddenly felt like being alone. Dragging her feet, Kianna went to the cherry tree at the edge of the lake. She sat on the bench, wondering why she had such a heavy heart.
Devon
The warrior had tried not to eavesdrop, but he had been close, and it wasn’t like they had whispered. Anyone would have heard them.
But not everyone would feel as upset and jealous as Devon.
Ophelia wanted to take Kianna to this ball, to meet the new lord in town and secure a marriage.
Marriage.
The rake fell from his grip, and he balled his hands into fists.
Forget marriage. Kianna shouldn’t be out when there were demons running around. There hadn’t been a sighting since the lantern festival, but that didn’t mean Kianna was safe.
He looked down the hill. Kianna sat on the bench under the cherry tree, clearly upset by the idea. Cat walked toward her, probably to try to lighten her mood.
If only Cat didn’t agree with Ophelia.
Not sure what else he could do to stop Kianna from going, Devon marched to Ophelia, who still stood on the porch, beaming at the invitation in her hands.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Devon blurted out.
A knot appeared between Ophelia’s brows. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a lot of work to do at the farm,” Devon said, grasping for any excuse. “Kianna shouldn’t waste time going to a ball.”
“Don’t be silly.” Ophelia waved him off. “If I can arrange a marriage for Kianna, then we won’t need to work in the field anymore.” She raised a finger at him. “Oh, wait here.”
Even more frustrated than before, Devon stood there while Ophelia ran into the house. A moment later, she came back with a small velvet pouch in hand.
Devon frowned. “What’s that?”
“I saved this in case we didn’t get a good yield from the crops, but I think this occasion deserves this.” She offered the pouch to him. Wary, Devon took it and he felt the heavy weight of the many coins inside. “Take Kianna into town, please, and help her buy the most beautiful dress she finds.” She patted Devon’s arm, then turned to the house. She went in with an extra skip in her steps.
Devon stared at the pouch in his hands.
This was all of their savings and they were going to waste it on a dress. At the same time, he wished Kianna and her family were saved somehow; he didn’t want this plan to work.
Without much of a choice in the matter, Devon pocketed the pouch and headed down the hill to invite Kianna to go into the village and buy her dress.
With each step he took toward her, the hurt and disappointment only grew inside him. He pushed the pain away and focused on his mission.
He was here to protect Kianna, nothing more.
Present
Kenna
“This is good,” Sabrina said, munching on a muffin. “Did you make these?”
“Not entirely,” I admitted. “I bought the mix and followed the instructions.” It was the best I could do with my terrible cooking skills. I had vowed to learn how to cook, but so far, it wasn’t going well.
Kevin grabbed a muffin from the platter in the center of the kitchen island. “I like it too.”
Carol, who'd had two already, nodded. “I say keep practicing. You got these right. Soon, you’ll be making them from scratch.”
“If I don’t burn down the house …” I muttered.
They all laughed.
I rolled my eyes but ended up smiling too. What could I do? It seemed cooking wasn’t for me. Thankfully, I had Lia, who would be home soon to make us dinner.
Like me, she had practically adopted Sabrina and Kevin, and if they weren’t here, she asked me to find them. She was like that about Carol too, but it was harder to not find Carol in our house nowadays.
“Enough about cooking, what about homework?” I asked, glancing at the books and notebooks spread over the kitchen island. “Are you all done?”
“Almost, Mom,” Carol teased.
“Good job, daughter,” I played along.
She chuckled at me.
While they finished their homework, I pulled out one of the books I was studying for the GED. I wasn’t in the mood to read it, but I couldn’t bother them while they all did their homework. It was that, or watch TV, which would distract them, or read some fiction novel, but I had already finished the one Devon had given me. I needed to buy another one. Or ask Lia to bring a couple