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Even though he was well behind schedule, Aapeli took the time to stand still and look around at the tranquil scenery. Little Lake was in a beautiful, green valley. The setting was so serene, he could see why Tinker and Mary has chosen to live here. It was just far enough away from the caves that there was little reason to fear the mountain men, and it had plenty of wildlife and edible plants to sustain the couple.
It was so peaceful standing here, Aapeli might have stayed a while longer but there was too much to be done before he could head over to Tinker and Mary’s to see if they knew anything about Liberty’s parents.
The moment the water hoses were onboard and stored away, Aapeli scooped Liberty off the captain’s chair. “Let’s go see what you look like under all of this dirt.”
He pried the soggy stick of jerky out of her hands and almost lost the hearing in his left ear when she squealed in protest, “Mine! Mine!”
Liberty lunged and would have tumbled out of Aapeli’s arms if he hadn’t been prepared. He had been around a few children over the years and knew how possessive they could be.
“Damn it, girl. You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t settle down.” He placed the stick of deer jerky on the captain’s chair and then hitched Liberty into a tighter hold, so she wouldn’t squirm out of his arms and break her neck on the way down the ladder.
Fortunately, it didn’t take Liberty long to settle. The moment they started down she popped her thumb back into her mouth and swiveled her head around, trying to see everything at once.
When Aapeli reached the ground, he headed over to the lake where it only took a second for the sight of swimming ducks to catch Liberty’s attention. She stared wide-eyed and enthralled, her eyes growing larger with each quack.
“I take it you’ve never seen a duck before. I don’t doubt it. I guess, if they ever dared land anywhere near the valley, the mountain men would have them cooked before their first quack.”
Near the water’s edge he sat her down so she could watch the ducks before traumatizing her with her first bath. She giggled when the ducks flapped their wings as if to take off, but when they didn’t, she pointed at them and looked over at him, as if to see what he thought about it.
Her eyes were filled with so much trust he couldn’t breathe for a moment. He couldn’t understand what he had done to deserve it, but it touched him deeply. Everyone he had ever run across in his travels had made him earn such trust. Not that he blamed them. The world was a dangerous place. Liberty was just too young to understand that yet. She needed someone who could teach her enough to stay alive in the unforgiving world they had inherited from their ancestors.
Aapeli knelt so he was eye level with Liberty. She slipped her thumb into her mouth. “From the looks of you I’m almost certain you’ve never had a bath before. This will go better for the both of us if you just trust me enough to know I’m not going to drown you.”
In one swift movement he slipped out of his jacket and shirt and threw them to the ground. They had no more landed when Liberty stepped into the middle of them and jumped up and down, as if discovering a new plaything.
Not certain whether to laugh or grimace, Aapeli pointed a finger and said, “Just don’t pee on them.”
Aapeli sat and pulled off his boots before gathering Liberty in his arm and wading out into the water until waist deep. At first Liberty was fascinated by the water until he dipped her head back into it. Her expression flickered between shock, confusion and outrage. Knowing he only had seconds before she settled on outrage, Aapeli furiously scrubbed her face and hair. Fortunately, she was too startled to react.
Liberty’s raggedy shift was so fragile it shredded apart in his hands, so he pulled it off and threw it over his shoulder. Aapeli was going to wrap her in his own shirt when they got out and figure out later what he could rig up to fit her from storage. There was some extra material left over from Airus’ balloon. It was stored below deck just in case the balloon needed repair. Fortunately, his mother had taught him to be handy with a needle and thread.
“Are you trying to get that child clean or drown ‘em?”
Aapeli stopped in mid scrub. Damn. He prided himself on never letting anyone sneak up on him. With Liberty still head first in the water, he looked toward the banks and was relieved to see it was only Tinker. Of course that didn’t slow his pounding heart.
He pulled Liberty out and held her against his chest. Her face was red from the hard scrubbing, and rivers of water trailed down her face from her now clean hair. The much needed bath had uncovered surprisingly delicate white skin that had a faint splattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
Liberty looked to Aapeli to see what he thought about this unexpected visitor. When he smiled his reassurance, she relaxed and slipped her thumb into her mouth. In unison they stared at the newcomer.
Aapeli shifted his weight and lowered Liberty onto his hip. “I was coming to look for you as soon I had Liberty presentable enough for visiting.”
Tinker sat down, cross legged, by Aapeli’s discarded clothes and grinned. “Where on earth did you find the little girl?” He stared through his squint. “She don’t look a thing like you.”
“Not mine. I found her earlier near Big Lake. I stopped by Shatter’s to see if he knew who she belonged to. He didn’t but said you and Mary might.”
Tinker shook his head. “I’ve never seen the child before.” He stared at her a moment longer before adding, “Red hair, um,” then stared off into space. “An uncommon color in these parts, but...” He scratched at his chin. “A young couple came through here a few years back.”
He pointed at Liberty. “The man had red hair like the girl there. Said they were heading to the Forbidden Lands.” He shrugged. “Some crazy talk about hearing there was a settlement out that way. I tried to tell them you’d been out there many a time and never mentioned seeing any folks in that part of the country. But you know how young people are, once they’ve set their minds to something, you can’t talk them out of it.”
Aapeli waded out of the lake. The weight of water pulled at his pants and he had to fight to hold onto Liberty as he kept them from slipping down.
“If you want, I can ask around to see if anyone’s missing a child.”
“I would appreciate it if you would.” As soon as Aapeli reached his discarded clothes, he wrapped his shirt around Liberty. He sat next to Tinker, cradling her against his chest.
Liberty patted his face. “Api.”
Aapeli didn’t bother correcting her, but asked Tinker, “What are the chances her parents are still alive.”
“All the stories I’ve heard told, those mountain men eat the weak. That’s one of the reasons I’ve never traveled out that way.” He looked at Liberty with a hint of sadness overshadowing his kind face. “No. I’m afraid I don’t think you’ll find them alive or dead.”
Tinker motioned toward Liberty. “Mary would love keeping the child until we find out for certain about her folks.” He glanced away toward the lake before adding, “We always wanted children but never could have any of our own.”
This was an easy way out of a complication Aapeli never wanted and certainly didn’t need, so why didn’t he hand Liberty over to Tinker and get on with his trip to The Forbidden Lands? Aapeli stared at the little girl in his arms and sighed. The top of her head was now settled into the curve of his neck, as if she belonged there. She was already fast asleep. His gut clenched in fear, but his heart opened just enough to let Liberty inside.
The one thing his father had always told him was never to make a decision with his heart, but always with his head. It was a good thing his father wasn’t alive, because Aapeli was going to do something really stupid.
He slowly patted Liberty’s back, careful not to wake her. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll just take her with me. I’ll stop by on my way back east in a couple of months to see if you’ve discovered anything about her parents.”
It was strange, but as soon as those words were spoken, Aapeli felt at peace. Maybe his world needed to be shook up a little. He had gotten too set in his ways and opinions.