Free Remembered by E. D. Brady Page A

was broken when I escorted you home yesterday. So I’ve come to fix it.” He
patted a small leather bag that he carried over his shoulder. “I brought tools.”
    “Community service?” Annie questioned.
    “Our training has been canceled today. Several peacemen have
fallen ill. It seems that some sort of virus has broken out at the Citadom,” he
replied.
    “Is it serious?” she asked.
    “Not at all, just a twenty-four hour illness. However, it’s
serious enough to cancel our usual activities, so the Master ordered us to go
out and make ourselves useful to the townsfolk. So I’m here to make myself
useful.” He suddenly looked worried. “I hope I haven’t come at an inconvenient
time.  I would be happy to return later if you wish.”
    “Right now is fine. I have no plans for today.” She was sure
that he noticed the ridiculous grin on her face and thought her a fool.
    He spread the contents of the bag of tools on the ground in
front of the garden and studied the gate.
    “Can I help you?” she called down the steps.
    “Yes,” he answered, “you could sit on the wall down here and
keep me company. That would be an enormous help.”
    She walked down the steps and sat on the edge of the grass,
not six feet from where he knelt.
    “How are you today, Annie?” he asked as he unscrewed the
gate.
    “Very well, thank you. And you?” she replied.
    “Never better. It’s a pleasure to be out of the building on
such a nice day,” he answered, unfastening the hinge from the fence entirely.
    “Yes, it’s lovely,” she said absentmindedly, watching him
run his strong, large hand down the side of the gate.  Abruptly, she had a
flash, a quick mental image of that very hand roaming over her body. She
swallowed hard and shook her head to dispel the blast of unfamiliar sensations
that coursed through her.
    He pulled a similar hinge from the leather bag and attached
both to the gate. “Would you be able to hold this in place while I screw it to
the fence?” he asked.
    She stood up, walked to the fence, and steadied the gate in
place with both hands. Kellus began to screw the first hinge. His hand lightly
brushed against her knee, causing a tingle to surge through her entire body. He
briefly looked up into her eyes before looking back down again. She could tell
that he registered the blush on her cheeks by his odd expression. He finished
fastening the rest of the gate in awkward silence.
    He stood up and swung the gate back and forth a few times
until he was satisfied that it would stay in place. “Is there anything else
that needs repaired?” he asked. “I am in no hurry to return to the Citadom.”
    “No, I don’t believe that I have any more gates about to
fall off their hinges,” she replied, “but you could allow me to cook breakfast
for you as a thank you token.”
    “There’s no need to thank me. It was my pleasure,” he
answered, “and also my duty. As an apprentice, I am duty bound to keep a
beautiful young woman as secure in her home as possible.”
    “Thank you,” she laughed, delighting in the compliment.
“That’s rather noble of you.”
    Another brief, awkward moment of silence followed. They both
looked at the ground, and then Kellus tightened his jaw as though he had made a
rash decision. “But breakfast would be really nice,” he said, “if it’s not too
much bother for you.”
    She smiled up at him. “You can use my bathroom to wash your
hands while I cook.”
    They walked into the house together.  Annie showed him to
the bathroom before walking into the kitchen and pulling a large pan from the
cupboard.
    “Can I help you?” he said as she pulled apart frozen bacon.
    She turned to see him leaning up against the doorframe and
came very close to dropping the large bundle of bacon that she held in her hand.
She was so overcome by the sight of him. He was beautiful. The sunlight shone
in a tiny streak through the window, resting on the side of his face.
    “Yes,” she said,