Free Into the Woods by Linda Jones Page B

he followed, "if you don't."
    She kept expecting him to turn back, to head for town and leave her to finish her walk alone, but he didn't. He talked about his sisters, in an offhand way that made her certain he missed them but would never admit it. He talked about the house he'd built for his mother, and she didn't bother to point out to him that there couldn't possibly be any selfish motives involved in giving such a gift.
    She told him how she needed to mend the fence that surrounded her flower garden, and how if it didn't rain soon she'd be hauling water from the spring-fed pond near her cottage to see that her plants survived the summer. She told him about caring for the plants in the greenhouse, and preparing the lotions and powders her customers required of her.
    He laughingly asked her if she ever sat down to rest. If she ever read a book or sat by the pond doing nothing or took a nap in the afternoon. She thought about his questions for a moment before shaking her head.
    In no time at all, they were at the cottage. Declan seemed surprised, just as he had last week, to find that they'd come so far so quickly.
    "I'm going to have to get you on a horse," he muttered.
    "I don't think so," she answered with a smile.
    She was reluctant to turn her back on him and say good-bye. He seemed just as reluctant to turn and begin the walk toward town.
    "It was very nice of you to walk me home," she said softly.
    Declan cocked his head and looked at her strangely, his eyes sharp, his lips thinned. He had looked at her this way after taking the potion. This look was less open, less audacious, but still she could see... something undiscovered waiting for her. Something new and exciting.
    With a long, deep breath, Declan took a single step closer. He was going to kiss her, somehow she knew it. If she were smart she'd turn away before he had the chance to do such a thing, but all her intelligence failed her. She wanted to know what his lips felt like on hers.
    Another aftereffect of the potion, she imagined dismissively.
    His head tipped slowly toward hers, reluctant and unerring at the same time. Ah, he was no doubt suffering, as she was, from the aftermath of the powerful aphrodisiac they'd consumed. He was likely as confused as she was.
    Her confusion fled, and she simply accepted what was to come. Her heart skipped a beat, she held her breath, her eyes drifted almost closed... and then with a jerk Declan pulled away from her.
    "What the hell?" he snapped, spinning around quickly.
    "What is it?" Matilda asked, her voice much too small for the moment, hazy, disappointed.
    "Something hit me in the back."
    As he spoke, another small projectile flew from the forest, a pebble that barely missed Declan's thigh.
    "You'd better get out of here, mister," a familiar voice called from the shelter of the trees. "She's a witch. If you kiss her, she'll turn you into a toad!"
    "You little..." Declan muttered, taking a long step toward the forest. From the trees they heard a squeal, a shout, and the sound of brush being abused as Hanson and Gretchen made their getaway.
    "My closest neighbor's children," Matilda explained. "They can be difficult, but I'm sure they meant no harm."
    Perhaps they'd meant no harm, but whatever spell had enticed Declan to try to kiss her was broken. She knew it would be foolish to pursue such an inappropriate interest, and from the wary look on his face, so did he.
    "Sunday evening," he said as he backed away.
    Matilda smiled and nodded and then turned, relieved to retreat into her cottage.
    * * *
    Declan had been uncommonly restless all weekend, so it was no wonder that he arrived at Matilda's house in the woods long before dark. And no mistake. The only way he knew to cure restlessness was to work it off. Good, hard, physical labor was the best way to take his mind off Matilda and her bewitching eyes.
    All his life he'd found release in activities that strained his muscles and made him sweat. When something went wrong,