She did a little shimmy and he grinned sheepishly. "Guilty." He put an orange juice in front of her. "And be careful of the sexy dancin'. You'll be gettin' Helm's milk all over your clothes again."
Elora rolled her eyes. "He gets enough. Have you seen how chubby his little face is getting?"
"Well, blood will tell."
Elora narrowed her eyes to slits. "Rammel. Paddy help you if you're saying what I think you're saying."
"All I'm sayin' is that chubby cheeks do no' run on my side of the family." When she took a mock threatening step toward him, he laughed. "Just teasin', darlin' girl. Just teasin'. You know I would no' change a hair on your head. Or his."
"Okay. All I'm sayin' is that insanity doesn't run on my side of the family." A look of horror slowly covered her face as she realized what she'd just said. She hadn't yet personally confronted what the assassin in the woods had said about the Laiwynn clan, but if it was true, it meant that cruelty and despotic behavior might run in her family.
Ram put his utensils down, wiped his hand on his apron, and offered himself for a hug. She stepped into the comfort of his arms.
"What I was trying to tell you earlier is that I've never made any secret of the fact that I won't give up my freedom to live a restricted life, no matter how luxurious or comfortable. Not for anything."
"No' even for Helm? And me?"
"That's not fighting fair and you know it."
"When it comes to your safety - and our son's - you think I care about fightin' fair? 'Tis the very last of my concerns."
"Let me put it this way. You need to come up with a more agreeable Plan B and you need to do it while I'm still in a listening mood."
"Any ideas?"
She looked down at her pretty Holland china plate, part of the set they got as a wedding present from Kay and Katrina. She had a picture of how good life was going to be there in their new home. Had the Ralengclan assassins spoiled her vision of the future to the point of ruin? Was it time to confront that possibility?
"No." When she looked back up, Ram thought he might have seen her look just a little worn. Like her aura hadn't been buffed in a while. Sometimes he caught her looking off into space and he suspected that she was thinking about what she'd been told by the Ralengclan assassin, wondering if the massacre of her family was really a coup d'état." Armed people guarding the house. Hardly what I pictured."
"I know." Ram sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "We'll figure it out. Monq's workin' on it." He pulled up like he had an idea. The change was so subtle that no one besides Elora would have even noticed it.
"What?"
"He's workin' on detectin' interdimensional activity - identifyin' the source and location. He says 'tis a logical first step toward the defense system we're goin' to be needin'."
"Yeah. I heard."
"Well..." She knew she was in trouble when he turned on that look that he had given her the first night they had met, the puppy dog plea that was so irresistible she could be manipulated out of her socks with full knowledge and complicity. She hated that. It was... manipulation by consent.
"Stop that right now!"
"Was just thinkin' that, for the time bein', just while we're sortin' this out, maybe we should move back into Jefferson Unit. You and Helm would be safe there. I know 'tis no' ideal, but there is the courtpark, food, and babysittin' on demand. 'Tis no' this." He looked around the room and gave a little sigh. He had put a lot of himself into renovating the property and somewhere along the way had come to understand why she loved it and pictured their little family living happily ever after there. "But we were happy at Jefferson too. We could even help Monq. Maybe speedin' thin's along a bit?"
"I'm expecting puppies."
"I truly hope no one is recordin' this conversation." Ram's mouth softened at the corners making him look so beautifully kissable that she had to lean in and remind herself if those kisses were as good as she remembered. He didn't seem to mind complying with her wish. When she pulled back, he said, "We could get Glen to keep an eye on that. The wolf pups I mean."
"This is not just some ruse that's going to get us sucked back into active duty?"
Ram cocked his head like he was having trouble with that question. "Why would I go to so much trouble to keep you safe only so I could risk gettin' you killed?"
Elora stared at Ram for a few seconds. "I'm not the only knight in the room and we both know how persuasive Sol can be when he wants something. Before I even consider this proposal, I need some reassurance that none of us, not you, not me, not the baby - none of us - are going to end up on any field assignment. Not in any capacity."
Ram nodded. "Deal."
"Okay."
"Okay you approve of my answer or okay we're packin' for Fort Dixon?"