Free Keepers: A Timeless Novella by Laura Kreitzer

shadow.
“Won’t they come looking here for you?”
    “ That ship’s long since
sailed,” Gabby said. “They’ve known my location for a few days, yet
they’ve kept away. This will be the last place they’ll look.
Besides, we’re on a completely different island.”
    My eyebrows rose. “But—” I
squinted, trying to make out the rental house’s
features.
    Andrew must have understood
my hesitation because he stepped forward and tacked on, “It’s like
the same place we stayed, but it’s not. It’s owned by the same
company—that’s why it looks similar.”
    “ Wow.” That was about as
much as I could spit out, my tongue tied in gratefulness over their
kindness. “Anywhere would have been perfect, as long as it’s far
away from—” I almost said “far away from my home,” but I didn’t
have one anymore. It was now my pile of ash, or the barbecue pit
that was once my home, or Ashty McAshterson. I mean, what did I
call it now? My lot?
    I received looks of pity,
and the silence turned awkward. No one wanted to say it, so I did.
“As long as I’m far away from my pile of ash.”
    No one laughed.
    <>
    After a dreadful, thirty
minute conversation with my mother, followed by the five minute one
with my father that was full of condolences about my home and
apologies for my mother’s behavior, I was spent. All I could think
about was sleep—I needed a break from my reality—but I had a
feeling sleep wouldn’t come so easily. I made myself focus on Jenna
and Jules. Guilt ate away at my insides; it was my fault they were
ever in danger. When that brick came through the window, my
reaction shouldn’t have been “tomorrow.” I shouldn’t have waited
even a minute. In fact, I should have demanded we leave that
second, but I didn’t because I was a moron.
    I sighed as I sat next to
Jules. She was fast asleep on the couch, and the angelic look on
her face put me at ease; I was glad her sleep wasn’t being wracked
with nightmares about fires or angry mobs of people throwing
bricks. Ah, to be so oblivious and unaware. Jenna was in the
bedroom, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if she were already
asleep herself. Firen towered over me, her presence comforting. If
Firen hadn’t rescued her from the fire, I would have been stuck in
that back room with Jules. Hell, if it weren’t for Gabby and her
abilities to save and heal me, I’d be in the hospital right now
with horrific burns. The thought of those same wounds being
inflicted on Jules nearly crippled me.
    I had planned to ask Jenna
about adopting Jules a while back, but things had gotten so crazy
and hectic that the timing never seemed right. After last night,
there was no right time anymore. It was now—now was the time. I
wanted to be her father. Though I knew I’d never be able to fill
the void of her real dad, I hoped Jenna and Jules would let me try.
It would be impossible to walk in the shoes of a hero, which was
exactly what Dave was. He’d died fighting in Iraq before Jules was
even born. How did one live up to that?
    I rose, leaned over and
kissed Jules on the forehead, and waved goodnight to Firen as I
made my way to the bedroom. Jenna was cuddled under the covers,
barely awake. The sun was finally rising, and it was weird to think
it was time to sleep. Though I’d normally not find this gloomy
weather pleasant, I appreciated the cloudy sky, sprinkling rain
over the lush, green landscape visible outside our
window.
    “ Hey, I wanted to talk to
you about something,” I said softly.
    Jenna scooted into a
sitting position, seeming uncertain. “What is it?” Her tone was
worried.
    I perched on the side of
the bed, turning to face her. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. I
just . . . I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something for a
while, but I didn’t know how to approach the subject. So . . . I’m
just going to say it.”
    Her eyebrows
furrowed.
    I pulled her hands into
mine and looked her right in the eye. I wanted her to