Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,113

bees and the scent of blossoms on the breeze seemed to keep the worst of the fatigue away.

As I filled the last basket, I stood on the ladder and looked across the rolling landscape. I knew that I was there with the sole purpose of seeing Gaia. I completed each task set before me with the idea that it was getting me closer to meeting her. But as I worked and the day wore on toward sunset, the urgency I felt melted away. I clearly remembered why I needed to see her—to save the elves, to save Trixie—but the emotional turbulence that accompanied that idea had dimmed. There was only the peace and splendor of the world living and thriving before me.

I climbed down the ladder and carried my full basket over to the others. Yet Ox and Brook were nowhere to be found. Instead, Rocky was standing near the baskets, holding my boots. While his expression and manner weren’t as gruff as when we first met, he wasn’t as cheery as my other companions.

Without a word, I pulled off the overalls and changed back into my boots, leaving the others next to the baskets. I followed Rocky back through the field and over the rise. As we reached the top, a large white farmhouse came into view. When we were a few feet from the worn, wooden, front-porch steps, the screen door creaked open and a lovely woman in a soft white skirt stepped out. Rocky stopped at the bottom of the steps and clapped me on the back. I looked over at him to find that he was smiling at me. Somehow I had earned the man’s approval.

“Thank you, Rocky,” the woman said, sending the most amazing feeling through me. In that split second, I felt warmth, and peace, and the most overwhelming longing for home. When I gazed up at her, she extended her hand toward me. “Hello, Gage. I’m Skye. We have one last thing for you to do.”

Taking her hand, I let her lead me past a living room filled with comfortable furniture and walls covered with framed photographs of smiling people. She took me up the creaking steps and down the hall. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled and squeezed my hand before pushing open the white door to reveal a nursery.

I took in the pale blue walls, the white lace curtains that danced in the breeze skipping through the open window, and the little dresser covered in stuffed animals. She led me over to an old-fashioned crank swing that held a baby in a blue outfit. Pale blond hair curled from his head and he watched me with wide blue eyes as he tightly held a soft rattle.

Skye released my hand and bent down to pick up the baby. She cooed at him as she settled him in her arms, but he continued to watch me the entire time. She pressed a kiss to his head and then handed him to me. I was awkward with the infant, as I couldn’t remember the last time I had held one, but Skye remained close. She helped comfortably position the boy in my arms until I felt as if I had done it a hundred times before.

With one arm across my back and the other cupping the back of the baby’s head, Skye leaned close. “This is your last task,” she said in a near whisper. “You have to put him down for a nap.”

“That’s it?” I whispered, arching one eyebrow at her.

Skye smiled and nodded at me. She pressed one last kiss to the side of the baby’s head and then leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “You’ll be great, I know it,” she murmured before releasing us both.

I turned as she reached the door, holding the little boy against my chest. “What’s his name?”

She leaned her head against the edge of the door, her green-gray eyes twinkling at me. “What do you think it should be?”

I looked down at the little boy and his bright blue eyes. He had one fist in his mouth as he sucked on it thoughtfully. “Squall,” I said before looking up at her.

Her smile grew a little wider. “Good choice.” And then she left us alone, gently closing the door behind her.

A little tremor of fear slipped through me as I stood alone in the middle of the room with the little boy. I wasn’t sure if I had ever held a baby and I