Shadows of the Redwood - By Gillian Summers Page 0,59
had told him fairies were bad. Could his gobblers be goblins?
And the little tree lived in L.A., not too far from her old house. She shivered.
Keelie grabbed her charm book and the piece of parchment. She was going to have to mail this to Zabrina as soon as possible. She slammed the book shut and ran back to the RV.
“Laurie, wake up!” She shook her friend. “I need you to take me to Juliet City. I need to go the post office.”
“What?” Laurie opened her eyes.
“I need for you to drive me.”
Laurie reached into the pockets of her jeans and placed the BMW keys in Keelie’s hand. “You drive. I was having the best dream. Orlando Bloom was fighting for me.”
“That’s Sir Davey’s TV,” Keelie laughed. The sounds of the elves and the Uruk-hai facing off in battle still came from the bedroom. Keelie went and watched for a second before turning off the TV, wondering what real goblins looked like.
There were no problems driving to and from Juliet City. Keelie enjoyed the sense of freedom driving gave her. With the parchment on its way to Zabrina, Keelie felt satisfied. Back at the festival grounds, she parked next to Sir Davey’s camper.
Sean was leaning against the RV, his hands crossed over his chest. “Where did you go?”
“To Juliet City. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was worried about you,” Sean said. “Laurie said you asked for her car. With Norzan missing, I don’t feel comfortable with you going out by yourself. Did you take Knot?”
“No. I put a calm charm on him.”
“A calm charm?”
“Yeah. He’s stressed out with Risa stalking him all hours.”
Sean snorted. “He’s a big boy; he can handle her. Well, how do you feel about going back to town and having an early dinner with me? I thought you might like to walk along the beach?” He raised an eyebrow. “I mean, we could be alone.”
Keelie smiled. “Are you sure?”
“We might get a whole twenty minutes together. I’m hoping for an hour.”
“Dare we hope we have that long?” Keelie asked with a smile. “We’re always being interrupted.”
Sean nodded “Yeah. Well, I’m in charge of the jousting company, and you’re a tree shepherd—both jobs are twenty-four-hour gigs. We have responsibilities …”
They exchanged understanding looks, and Keelie felt something connect between them liked they’d never experienced before.
“Do you ever get tired and want to run away?” Keelie asked. “Sometimes it’s all so overwhelming, and I need to be alone.”
“We can’t forsake those that depend on us.” Sean took her hand. “We’ve been chosen. Me to lead the jousters and uphold traditions, and you have the forests to help and to heal. What we do makes a difference.” He really understood.
“I know, but sometimes I just want to escape and be normal.”
“I understand. You want to go and hide, and let someone else take care of the problems.” Sean nodded. “I know all too well what you mean. You always have to be there, and sometimes you feel lost in the role assigned to you by our people.”
Keelie’s stomach became light. She leaned her hand against the RV to steady herself. She looked directly at Sean. “You said ‘our people.’”
“Yes. You’re part of the Dread Forest elves. Our people.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me.” Keelie felt warm but confused. Sean was thinking of her as an elf.
“I thought you knew you were one of us.” He grimaced. “Keelie, I know there have been difficulties, but know this—the jousters and I will do whatever we have to do to protect you. You are one of us.”
She rubbed her round ear. “Sean, what about Risa? The other elves? They don’t think of me as one of them.”
Sean grabbed Keelie’s upper arms and turned her around, tilting her face up with his hand. “What does it matter what other elves or people think? You have to be true to yourself, Keelie, and you are. That’s one of the things I …”
He stopped. She held her breath.
He moved strands of hair behind her pointed ear, then behind her round ear. “Did you know that Etilafael sings your praises at the Council meetings?”
Keelie shook her head. “Still, Risa and some of the other elves will never accept me.”
“Why is it so important to have elves like Risa accept you? You can’t please every elf in the forest. Anyway, Risa has issues. She’s still working out the fact that we’re not going to be married. Elves don’t handle rejection very well. Remember the love