“Take your pick,” he said, setting the four remaining books on the end table. “Charles can borrow one too. We can read them all in turns.”
“Grand, thank you.” Daniel picked up one of the novels just as Charles entered the cabin.
“We’ve all decided to read tonight,” Oliver announced.
“Have we now?” Charles said, his tone flat.
The lad gestured to the books. “Yep. Help yourself.”
Charles scowled. “I’m turning in early. I’ve books of my own to read, thank you just the same.”
Charles washed his face and hands at the sink, brushed his teeth, and left the room without another word, closing his bedroom door behind him. Meredith arched an eyebrow at Daniel in question.
“We had words,” Daniel said. “He’s the testy sort, always has been. Charles is a pessimist.”
“I suppose he keeps you grounded since you’re a dreamer who sees the silver lining in every gray cloud,” Oliver said.
Meredith’s eyes widened in surprise as she gaped at Oliver. “Nailed it,” she said.
“What does nailed it mean?” Daniel asked.
“It means Oliver has you both pegged. You and Charles are the perfect balance for each other, an optimistic dreamer, and a pessimistic pragmatist.” She smiled his way. “Both of you possess determination and the will to work hard. No matter what you two choose to undertake together, I’ve no doubt you’d succeed.”
“High praise indeed.” Which only made him feel guiltier at the possibility that he might soon forsake his best friend.
Oliver cleared his throat. “Look, I know you and Meredith are into each other, and I have no problem with the two of you shacking up. I enjoy solitude, so … feel free to head upstairs whenever.” With that declaration, he returned to his pallet and took up his book.
“I wouldn’t mind going to bed early. I think I’ll take one last trip to the outhouse,” Meredith announced as she rose from the table, taking a lantern with her.
Once she left, Daniel turned to the lad. “Are you certain you’d not be offended by our shacking up as you put it?”
“I’m from the twenty-first century, Daniel. It’s a common practice for couples to live together without the legal document proclaiming them husband and wife, wife and wife, or husband and husband. It’s all good.”
Daniel blinked. “Wife and wife? Husband and husband?”
“Yep. The LGBTQ+ community has come a long way by the twenty-first century. Gay couples can legally marry if they want.” Oliver dropped his gaze to his opened book. “Don’t you need to visit the outhouse one last time before you head upstairs?”
“Hmph.” He took the hint and left the lad to his book, encountering Meredith on her return trip. She handed him the lantern.
“Meredith, what does LGBTQ+ stand for?”
“Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer. Queer is kind of an umbrella label for all the forms of sexuality that exist within the LGBTQ+ community, and to those who don’t wish to label themselves as specifically one thing or another. That’s where the plus comes in.”
“Ah.” He nodded, a little overwhelmed. “If it is acceptable, I’ll be up in a bit. You can explain then what gayness has to do with any of that. Don’t we all express gaiety during celebrations? Also, what does it mean to be transgender.”
“It is acceptable, and I will explain.” She smiled.
Daniel rushed through his nightly ablutions and climbed the steps to his room. Meredith sat in bed with the lantern lit on the table beside her. She lowered the book she’d been reading and watched as he stripped himself bare. Savoring the way her appreciative gaze heated his blood without so much as a touch, he slid between the sheets beside her. “This has to go, love,” he said, tugging at her nightgown.
She set the book on the bedside table. “We need to be quiet,” she whispered as she helped him remove the barrier between them.
He drew her into his arms. Her softness pressed against him brought a delicious ache to his loins and to his heart. He was home. “Meredith, tell me about your sister Grayce. How are she and her husband helping their clan to transition into the world at large? How do the clan members make their way in a world that is so foreign to them?”
“Really? You want to talk about this now?” She peered at him, obviously peeved at his suggestion.
“Aye, to settle my mind.” The warm breath she blew against his neck tickled his skin, and he tightened his hold on her and slung a leg over hers.