Into Fall
At
The House of Four Seasons
by Atonia
Part 3
They spent a lot of time away from the house, it was not lost on Toni what Terry was doing, he was trying to wean her away from it, more time spent in the outside around other people, different places was good for her he’d said. They went to bookstores and bought best sellers, to music stores and bought CD’s and she activated his phone for him taking hers back.
He took her to Boston to the theater, to movies, things normal everyday people did, instead of magically ordering up something. He was trying to prepare her for life outside of the magic, whether it would include him or not was not his main concern. Except for a brief period, he’d been alone most of his adult life, he could do it again…if he had to. He’d done a lot of things in his life that he had to do. He wanted her with a burning passion that would not ever die and he was building a plan, the outcome was not under his control; that was his reality.
“I can’t get this to play Terry,” she brought him the IPod he’d bought her, “I’ve got the music downloaded.”
“Let me have a look,” he took it plugging the ear buds in his ear and fiddled with the buttons, she watched his hands with the little device; hands that had so recently made her writhe and moan beside him.
“You have to push this,” he looked up at her reading her eyes and smiled handing it back to her, “The little button on the bottom.”
“You’re so good with little buttons,” she grinned and walked away placing the ear buds in her ears.
The house decorated itself for the season again with trailing autumn leaves, pumpkins and gourds. Scented candles burned sending their warm gingerbread scent through the house. The October weather turned cold and wet for days so when the sun finally did come out so did they and horseback riding was what they wanted to do.
“It might be the last time we get a chance,” Toni remarked as they mounted up.
Egan agreed saying another week and he would be gone with the horses until next year.
They rode for quite a ways ending up on a trail along the cliff far away from the house, they dismounted and found a rock to sit on to eat their apples and cheese they brought with them. A bottle white wine passed between them. Terry was looking out to sea remembering their voyage in Jack’s ship.
“And you actually fought with the British Navy Terry, I still can’t get over that what did you do?”
“What I had to.”
“Did you kill someone?” Toni felt a little chilled.
“That’s what war is Toni, kill or be killed.”
“With a sword?”
“No…I’m good with a knife,” he sucked in his bottom lip.
She’d forgotten that about him, what he was, what he was capable of, former SAS she imagined he was in the thick of the fight despite her plea to Jack for Terry’s safety. “I’m very thankful you came out of that alive, I would never have forgiven Jack for letting you fight.”
“There was no way anything was going to happen to me, besides I can take care of myself.”
“I know where your scars are.”
“At least I lived to tell about them, are you going to drink that or just hold it?”
“I might hold it.”
“I’ll take it off ya.”
She smiled slightly his eyes were the same color as the sea beyond him, dark blue green, “I know you…could.”
“I know what you want, you want me to throw you on the ground and get between your legs, I’m not going to, it’s too wet and mucky.”
“When did you get picky about where you lay me down?”
“You’ll muck up the saddle.”
“There’s a blanket…”
“Where?”
Toni threw her head back and laughed.
He loved her when she was like this, wild and crazy, he loved her when she held her teddy bear and cried, he loved her when she met him in bed as equals, he loved her when she got drunk with him, he loved her when she cooked for him, cared for him, he loved her…he loved her.
November came in cold with heavy frosts that did not melt in the sun. It was foggy and damp and damn cold, still he ran every morning coming home to be warmed in his bed by Toni, he would fall asleep and she would lay with him until he woke and then they would go down to breakfast. Sometimes she cooked and sometimes she let the house provide.
“I should have been summer,” he said one day when they were on the sofa in front of the fire in her room.
“You don’t like the cold.”
“Not even a little bit and I’ve been in some cold places.” He replied
“Whatever would I do with you in winter?”she asked
“Take me to a warmer climate. I could do that you know, I could take you anywhere.”
“To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t like it either, nor do I like the extreme heat and humidity of the tropics.”
“You’ve been in the tropics?”
“Once on a cruise in my senior year of college a bunch of us went, it was a fun trip.”
“You don’t think you’d like to live in say…Alaska?”
Toni smiled, “not much danger of that, I don’t think I’m cut out for that kind of an environment.”
“What if John wanted you to go live there would you?”
“Um…no why should I want to, why should he want to take me there, no…he knows me better than that.”
“What about France would you go to France with Max if he asked you to?”
“That’s harder to answer. I’ve never been to France, I might like it, I don’t know.”
“Would you go to England and live while Jack is gone for months and years?”
“That wouldn’t happen, I can’t go back and live in his time.”
“Can he live in yours?”
“I don’t know.”
“I ‘m not trying to put you on the spot Toni, just trying to give you some things to think about.”
“I understand what you’re doing Terry, where would you take me?”
“Wherever you wanted to go. I’m based out of London, but I can live anywhere, it doesn’t matter.”
“You could live in Virginia?”
“I could.”
“this is not going to be easy for me Terry.”
“I understand that Toni that’s why I keep throwing things at you. I’ve only got a couple of weeks left with you this year…I don’t know if I’ll even have another season with you.”
“Why do you think that?” she ran her hand over his shoulders pulling him onto her lap.
“Because I think you’re going to do something in the next twelve months. I honestly don’t think you’re going to let this go on.”
“And if you are here next year and I’m still not sure then what.”
“Then you can bet you arse I’m going to press my case, I won’t let up until I know.”
He was right, she knew he was right it did bear on her mind all the time, she couldn’t live like this. Jack said let it happen, was it happening, she thought it was but how did she know for sure “It may be a disturbing year then, I may end up alone, I don’t plan to string anyone along.” Her hand in his hair absently playing with it. “I want to be sure, but know this Terry I will always be honest with you, and honestly I love you.” She kissed his soft lips and his hand pressed her head to him tangling her hair in his fingers.
A few days later Terry took her car and went into Gloucester he’d managed to transfer some money he thought and wanted to make sure it was there in an account he’d set up. He wanted to see actual cash to make sure it was real. From there he transferred the money into the bank account Toni’s lawyer had set up for her grandmother’s estate. He didn’t need the money and if he never saw her again after this season was over, he definitely did not need it. He took the receipts from this transaction and placed them in the brown envelope with her papers. She would find them someday and know.
There was snow on the ground for Thanksgiving and more forecast so they were home this year. Toni prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal, she cooked from scratch and did not use her magic except for the pies. Terry watched football games on TV while she cooked. Once she walked down the hall and peeped in the living room door watching him for a moment, he sipped a beer engrossed in the game, she smiled to herself and went back to the kitchen, she could live like this, she thought as she stirred the gravy.
The gold band on her finger seemed to warm and she looked up, he was leaning on the doorway to the kitchen watching her.
“I thought you were watching the game?”
“I was, ran out of beer. You’re making a lot of food.”
“I thought it might last a couple of days, you don’t mind leftovers do you?”
“Not when you’ve prepared it yourself.” He’d noticed she hadn’t magically stirred up a meal. “Mind if I kiss the cook?”
“Um small price to pay for this glorious meal I’ve prepared,” she went into his arms.
“Call it a down payment,” he kissed her for a long time.
“Terry,”
“Something’s burning.”
“I think it’s me.”
Toni served the meal in the dining room, it was she thought probably the last Thanksgiving she would have in this house, she wanted it to be special with Terry they only had a few days left until the end of his season.
The morning he left she woke up although he was trying to be quiet, some inner alarm went off in her head. He was dressed for running in the cold and sat on the side of the bed and kissed her.
“I’m not going to tell you goodbye Terry.”
“Good, that means something.”
“Yes it does, I love you.”
“You have my love, keep it warm.” He kissed her forehead and left.
