Free To Love and Protect by Tammy Jo Burns Page B

silence between them made the travel to the barn unbearable.   They arrived at the farmstead just as the snowflakes turned fat and lazy, filtering down on them from above.   They took care of their horses.  
    The farmer and his wife gave them a hot meal and several blankets to bed down on in the barn.   When the farmer’s wife saw the condition of their appearance, she insisted they take a bath in the house, which ended up being difficult with the number of children the couple had.   Clarissa was not used to so many people in such a small area, but was not about to complain.   The couple also let Clarissa and Justin borrow some clean clothes while theirs were drying by the fire inside the barn.   Justin walked into the barn after having dumped the bath water and helped the farmer take care of his livestock.
    “Look, I said some pretty horrid things to you that I probably shouldn’t have.   I’m sorry we have not found your father yet.   I know we are on the right track, we are just so far behind him.”  
    “I shouldn’t have hit you with the mud balls or called you an ‘obstinate ass,’ though you can be sometimes.”
    “And?”
    “And what?”
    “Aren’t you sorry for not staying put?”
    “No.   I didn’t think you were going to return.   Are you sorry for spanking me?”
    “No.   You should have stayed put.”
    “We have to stop this.   I am trying to remain strong and positive, yet my stomach is constantly upset.   I know the weather is an irritant neither of us can control, but imagine how I feel on top of the physical discomfort.   He’s my father.   How would you feel if your father came up missing, and you were unable to find him?”
    “I don’t know,” he murmured thinking back to when he had found out about his older brother’s death.   It had been a dark time for his family, him especially.   No one would have known it by the way he had acted though, turning to women, drinking, and gambling.   Only those close to him had seen the excessiveness and how it was destroying him.   Then there had been the lies Liam had told him about Jonathan.   Lies that even now had his blood boiling and made him want to take out his anger on his ex-best friend.
    “Exactly.   I didn’t know either until I had to live it,” Clarissa said, bringing Justin back to the present.   “I’m doing the best I can.   Do you understand?”
    “From now on, it goes without saying.   You stay put, unless I tell you otherwise.”
    “Fine.”
    They lay side by side that night, seeking warmth from each other, having come to an unspoken truce.  

Chapter 5

    They ended up spending an unexpected three days with the farmer and his wife.   The snow had not stopped for hours, and they waited until they could travel with some confidence.   They avoided each other as much as possible while there.   She would help the wife with chores, cooking, and the children.   Justin would help the farmer outside the house.   Each night they fell asleep, lying stiffly next to each other.
    Into their second week of searching, they stopped by a brook to cool off.   After the snow, the temperatures had turned unseasonably warm.   The water felt cool and soothing to Clarissa.   She lay stretched out on the bank, her eyes closed to the world around her.   They had come across some leads in regards to her father.   The stress depleted her energy, and she fought against a headache that threatened to bloom into a debilitating one.   She and Justin had not sparred lately, but the tension between them did not help her any.
    After tending the horses, Justin walked up on her and caught his breath at the sight.   She looked to be a creation of the faerie world.   Her hair had been braided earlier and tucked under her hat, but since arriving here, she had taken it down.   Currently it lay fanned out on the bank behind her.   The sun filtered though the leaves dappling her skin and hair in light.   She had an arm flung