Free Arrival of the Traveler (Waldgrave Book 1) by A.L. Tyler Page A

open window and grasped one, intending to pull it free of the bush and hide it in her suitcase; when she pulled, her fisted hand had slid up the stem to the blossom, the thorns lacerating her palm as it went. Her father had so gently bandaged her, chastising her for not listening. He held her when she cried because it hurt, and told her it would be okay. Most children in this situation might develop a fear or dislike of roses—but not Aaron’s daughter. Even afterwards, they watched the flowers bloom, and he let it be a lesson in respecting boundaries.
    Lena wished she could have kept the bracelet, anyway.
    There was another knock at the door. Before Lena could answer it, her mother had already opened the door and come in, carrying a plate of food. Lena sighed; did all parents just instinctually do this? She’d continually had the knock-and-wait-for-answer conversation with her father. It appeared her mother would need it as well.
    “Do you mind?”
    “Mind what?” Ava asked naively.
    “You didn’t wait for an answer after knocking.” Lena went back to her bed.
    “I’m sorry. I figured you were sick and I didn’t want you getting up to answer it. I am your mother, after all.”
    “Yeah. I guess we’ll have to work on that, won’t we?” Their eyes met and a little smile crossed Ava’s face. As she went to set the tray down on the nightstand, the bracelet caught her eye.
    “Well, that’s pretty.”
    “Yeah. It’s a pity I’ll have to give it back.”
    Ava looked confused. “To who?”
    “David. He gave it to me as a get well present, but I can’t keep it. He spent way too much.” Ava looked somewhat uneasy, and yet a little proud; her daughter had received a very nice gift. Lena picked up a sandwich half off the plate. It was cut across, not down the middle, as Mrs. Ralston usually did. Lena realized her mother had made her dinner herself.
    “Thanks for bringing me dinner.” She said suddenly.
    “You’re my daughter. And you’re welcome.” Ava paused and sat down next to Lena. “We need to talk about David. I know that you two have been getting close to one another but—“
    “It’s not like that. I promise.” Lena put the sandwich back down. She had already had the birds and bees discussion from her father, and would do anything to keep that discomfort from happening a second time. “I already know what you’re going to say. Dad told me all about it, and believe me, that’s not what’s happening.”
    Ava smiled. “That’s not the talk that I was going to have with you, but good to know. Good to know. I’d like to tell you some things about David, because he’s not really who you think he is.” Ava stopped and stared at Lena, who stared back, until she figured out what was going on.
    Lena sat up straighter. “Oh! Okay… Who is David?”
    “Nope, try again.”
    “Um…What is David?”
    “More specific.” Ava made herself more comfortable. Lena thought hard.
    “Is David really a yard boy? He said something about being an apprentice.”
    Ava smiled and nodded. “He’s a sort of apprentice. Go on.”
    Lena thought again. There were so many questions floating around in her head, it was hard to think of information that pertained exclusively to David. It was even more difficult to formulate those questions in a way that would illicit an answer from Ava.
    “Why doesn’t Howard know about his apprenticeship?”
    “Aha!” Ava smiled again. “Now you’ve got it. Howard can’t know, because if he did, he probably wouldn’t be allowed to allow David to stay here.”
    Lena furrowed her brow. “What?”
    “Stick with David questions.” Ava replied quickly.
    “What kind of an apprentice is he?”
    Ava frowned slightly. “I can’t answer that.”
    Lena sighed. Her mother still watched her expectantly, and she’d never felt so stupid in her life. She shrugged; her mother picked the bracelet out of the box and set it in her hand. She looked at Lena, then back at the bracelet;