A week later, Daniel’s mother sent him on an errand to the Sayer house. She wanted him to see if Kate’s mother had any yellow yarn to sell them; at least that was the reason she claimed.
“I’d be happy to run over, Mom,” Daniel told her.
“Don’t run, sweetheart. Take your time, your father can tend the flock today,” she told him.
Alan’s ears pricked up at this pronouncement, “Their house is less than an hour’s walk from here. If he doesn’t waste time, he can be back soon enough to handle the sheep.” He sounded mildly annoyed.
Helen gave him an emphatic look, as if to impress some important information upon him without using words. “Let him take his time, Dear. We need to keep up good relations with the neighbors.”
That finally got through to him, and he nodded, but he couldn’t resist a joke, “Oh! Of course you’re right, though I can’t help but remember that the last time you spoke to me on the topic, you told me you’d best not catch me making trips to console the Widow Sayer.”
Helen glared at him while Daniel laughed.
As he started out the door his father stopped him, “Take the cittern with you, Daniel.”
“To buy yarn?”
“Everyone loves music, Daniel, and you have a fine hand with it,” Alan winked at his son. “You’ll thank me someday.”
***
Brenda Sayer opened the door to their home and welcomed him in. Green eyes and thick auburn hair reminded Daniel immediately of Kate, and as he followed her, he couldn’t help but think of one of his father’s old pieces of advice, ‘If you want to know what a woman will look like, look at her mother.’
Judging by Brenda Sayer, Kate had a wonderful future ahead of her. Her mother’s hips were full but healthy, much like her bosom, hinting that her daughter would have a magnificent figure someday. She glanced back at him over one shoulder, “Kate should be back in a moment. Would you like some tea?”
Daniel quickly raised his eyes from where they had been, meeting her gaze awkwardly, “Actually, Mother sent me over to see if you have any yellow yarn.”
“Oh,” replied Brenda with a faint smile of amusement. “I thought perhaps since you had your mandolin with you, you might play a little for us.”
“Well, sure…,” he answered. He didn’t bother to correct her about the instrument’s name. The two were similar enough that it hardly mattered.
“The air is cooler outside if you want to sit on the bench,” she offered. “I already have some tea made. I’ll be there in a second.”
He took her advice and stepped back out onto the porch. The cittern he put within easy reach, and then he took a seat on the long oak bench that Kate’s father had built years ago, before he vanished into the deep forest.
Brenda appeared a moment later and sat down beside him. Her hair carried a pleasant scent of heather and lavender. “The tea is cool, I’m afraid,” she told him. “I actually prefer it that way in this hot weather. You don’t mind do you?”
“No ma’am,” he answered respectfully.
“You’ve gotten awfully tall these days,” she continued, reaching over to tousle his hair. “You’re even taller than me when you’re sitting.”
Daniel was only a month away from turning fifteen now, and he had grown considerably over the past year. His shoulders had broadened, and unlike some of his gangly peers, he had gained muscle to match his frame. He found himself slightly uncomfortable under Brenda’s appraising eye.
“Mom says I might be even bigger than Dad by the time I’ve finished,” he told her.
“Mother!” said Kate in obvious dismay. She had just appeared from the side of the house carrying a load of freshly picked greens from their garden. Her hands were covered with black soil, and her hair was tied back in a severe braid. She was flushed from the sun, and her skin had a faint sheen of sweat.
Daniel thought she positively glowed. He stood to greet her, “Hi Cat.”
Brenda spoke before her daughter could reply, “There you are.”
“Why didn’t you tell me!? I’m a complete mess,” said Kate.
“Well, I was just about to go let you know…” said her mother somewhat helplessly. She sounded more amused than apologetic.
“I’ll be right back Daniel,” said Kate, after shooting her mother a blistering glance. She put the load of greens on the edge of the porch and went back to use the washbasin they kept near the back entrance of their home.
“Did she seem a bit flustered to you?” asked Kate’s mother with a grin.
Daniel blushed, “I-I don’t see why.”
She gave him a glance that for a moment seemed almost predatory, “Oh, I’m pretty sure I see why.”
Kate reappeared a moment later. Her hands were clean now, and her face had been freshly washed. She might have brushed her hair as well; it seemed uncommonly smooth despite no longer being braided. “Hello Daniel,” she said, beginning fresh.
“Hello Kate,” he responded before coming to a full stop. His mind struggled to find something to say.
“Mrs. Tennick sent him over to fetch some yarn, but I think he might be convinced to stay and play some music for us,” said Kate’s mother, giving her daughter a knowing glance.
Kate smiled and the sun came out, bathing Daniel in a warm glow. “That sounds wonderful, Mother,” she replied with a certain emphasis on the last word. “Perhaps I should keep Daniel company, while you look through what you have?”
Brenda rose and headed back into the house, “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t hurry,” suggested Kate. “I know you have a lot to sort through. I’m sure Daniel will understand if you take a while.”
Brenda laughed as she closed the door. Daniel heard her say something that sounded like ‘good luck’ after she shut it, but he wasn’t certain who the words were meant for.
“How have you been?” asked Daniel after his brain reawakened.
“I’ve been well, thank you,” she answered as she stopped in front of the bench. She hesitated then, unsure where to sit. He was standing now, and she wanted to be close to him, but not too close. Sitting in the middle would assure her of proximity, but might also seem too aggressive.
Daniel misunderstood her hesitation, and on a sudden impulse pulled out his handkerchief and dusted one end of the oak bench for her. The wood was certainly not dusty, and Kate’s mother had been sitting there only a minute before, but he could think of nothing else to do.
That settled the question of where to sit, though. Kate settled down on the spot he had needlessly cleaned, and he took a place at the opposite end. Only three feet separated them but it felt like an ocean. He stared at his hands for what seemed like an eternity before finally apologizing, “I’m sorry.”
“Whatever for?”
He glanced up and was nearly transfixed by those green eyes again. Looking away, he saved himself before his useless tongue seized up again. “I’m just not very good at conversation,” he admitted.
Kate laughed, relaxing now as she realized he was just as nervous as she was. “We never had any problem talking before.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, “but that was before the—before you—I mean…”
“Before you asked me to the dance?” she suggested.
“Yes,” he said with some relief.
“It isn’t really such a big thing,” she said, hoping to reassure him. “Lots of people go to dances, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
That thought was something of a reprieve for him, but it also made him feel somewhat discontent. “That’s true,” he admitted.
“So what have you been doing?”
That helped. “I saw Seth yesterday,” he told her. “Dad sent me over with the wagon.”
“Did he mention asking me to the dance?” she asked, curiously.
“No,” said Daniel. “I felt somewhat guilty about it, but I didn’t mention that you were going with me either.”
She frowned, “Think it’ll hurt his feelings?”
Daniel shrugged, uncertain.
“If the reverse had been true, would it have hurt yours?” she wondered aloud.
“It would have stung pretty bad,” he admitted.
“I wonder why?” she mused.
He turned a deep shade of red as he realized that he had just given his feelings away. “Seth said Dalton Brown saw one of the wardens last week.” It was the only thing he could think of to cover his embarrassment.
Kate’s face blanched. Mentioning the wardens or the forest gods was a short hop from reminding her of her father’s disappearance. Daniel realized his mistake immediately.
“Damn, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” he said in a rush.
She shook her head, “Don’t be, it’s alright. Life goes on, and it’s been years now.”
“Word of the sighting is probably all over town by now. I bet they’re all worrying,” opined Daniel.
“Supposedly, they only take the wicked,” said Kate, “so you should be safe.”
“I’m not so sure…”
She grinned, “You haven’t been harboring sinful thoughts, have you?”
Daniel had already begun to adjust to living in a nearly perpetual state of embarrassment, and so he managed to get out a simple reply, “You’re the last person I could tell about that.”
Now it was Kate’s cheeks that were burning. They both went silent then, and it was a relief when he remembered the cittern. “Music?”
“That would be perfect.”
He was a lot more comfortable now that he had something to occupy his hands. Drawing the cittern from its case he ran his fingers over the strings a few times while he checked to make sure that it was still in tune. “What would you like to hear?”
She thought carefully for a moment, “Do you know ‘Dana’s Lament’?”
“I can play it,” he returned, “but I’m not sure if I can sing it properly.”
“That’s fine; I just like the sound of it.”
He nodded and began to play, one hand on the neck of his instrument while the other strummed. He was confident of the tune, but nervous regarding the words. The song was a sad one, telling a story of lovers, separated by war first and eventually by death. It was lengthy, and while the music wasn’t particularly difficult he wasn’t certain his voice could reach all the notes.
He sang quietly, hoping that when he reached the part his voice couldn’t ascend to, that it wouldn’t be too obvious. As the story progressed, he focused more on the music and his self-consciousness began to melt away. He barely registered the fact that she was now sitting much closer.
When his voice began to falter, unable to reach the higher end of the scale, hers appeared, soaring higher and fitting itself in with the song. Surprised, he abandoned his efforts to sing and gave himself over to his instrument. Despite knowing her for most of his life, Daniel had never realized that Kate had such a lovely voice. He had heard her singing childhood ditties and rhymes, but that was a far cry from this.
After the song was done he found himself staring at her, sitting scant inches away. “I didn’t know you could sing,” he marveled.
She seemed to shine with vitality, and as she replied Daniel realized that her face was barely a foot from his own. She was leaning toward him with excitement as she replied, “There’s probably a lot you don’t know about me.”
His eyes seemed to be memorizing her face, studying the details as she spoke, the turn of her nose, the red curl that had crept in front of her left cheek—the rosy pink of her lips. Without being aware of a conscious decision, he leaned forward and kissed her quickly; as he did her eyes flew wide, and he found himself startled by their emerald flash.
He pulled away immediately, “Oh gods! I’m sorry Cat! I don’t know what I was…”
Catherine Sayer reached out with one hand, and taking firm hold of his thick black hair she pulled his head back in toward her own.
Time seemed to freeze, and when Daniel became aware of it again it was merely as a byproduct of the steady pounding in his ears. His heart was beating so strongly in his chest that it was drowning out all other sounds. A sudden flash of light encompassed his mind, illuminating the world around him in a fashion he had never experienced before. For a moment he could sense everything. He saw the tree branches swaying behind him in the wind, he felt the squirrels running through their tops, he even saw the rabbit sneaking quietly into the back garden to nibble at their prized vegetables. He also felt Brenda Sayer standing at the window, watching them with obvious interest, and that snapped him from his reverie.
Pulling back again he felt the world collapse around him, returning to its normal state. Kate watched him curiously, and she seemed to be breathing hard, as though they had just been running.
For that matter, so was he.
I love you! The words almost jumped from his lips, but he caught himself before they could escape. “I—I think your mother is watching us,” he said instead. Idiot, she would think you’re crazy if you had said something like that so soon.
A flash of annoyance passed over Kate’s face, but it couldn’t last in the afterglow of youthful excitement. She laughed instead, “I should have known she’d be spying on us.”
The ground seemed to shift underneath Daniel, and his stomach twisted. The world flashed with the same odd sensations of being able to see things that his eyes couldn’t possibly see. A wave of nausea rose from his stomach, threatening to make him lose his breakfast.
“I’d better go,” he told Kate hurriedly.
She frowned, “You don’t have to go yet. I don’t think Mother will be mad, she’s just nosy.” She reached out to put her hand on his arm.
The ground rolled again as Daniel stood, making the world swim. “I forgot something. I need to get home.” He pulled away and started down the porch steps.
“Surely it can wait a few more minutes?”
He was already jogging, “I’m sorry. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She watched him in confusion. Glancing back she realized the cittern was still sitting on the bench where he had left it, the empty case on the ground nearby. She turned and shouted, “You forgot your instrument!” but he was already out of sight.
Her mother stepped out onto the porch a moment later. “Where’s Daniel?” she asked.
“He just left,” said her daughter in a puzzled voice.
“He forgot his mother’s yarn,” said Brenda.
“And the cittern,” noted Kate sadly.
Brenda Sayer patted her daughter’s back comfortingly. “Don’t worry, sweetie. That just means he’ll have good reason to come back soon.”