The young woman took in a deep breath, but couldn\u2019t maintain it.\u00a0 That steady inhalation led to an abrupt cough.\u00a0 She could already see in his eyes that he was not happy.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t fret, my love,\u201d Alice said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no blood.\u00a0 This is just a lingering side effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard furrowed his brow anyway.\u00a0 \u201cThe carbuncle isn\u2019t an easygoing ailment,\u201d he assured.\u00a0 \u201cSo you\u2019ll have to forgive me if I feel I can\u2019t afford to be an easygoing caregiver.\u00a0 And you\u2019re my wife, so I\u2019ll be taking extra care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd don\u2019t forget, she\u2019s also with child,\u201d their guest added.<\/p>\n
Alice narrowed her eyes and glowered at the friend.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t give him any more reason to baby me, Maximus.\u00a0 In time, he\u2019ll keep me from leaving the house at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cForgive me for being concerned,\u201d Richard pressed.<\/p>\n
Maximus took a sip from his glass at leisure.\u00a0 That cool tea tasted that much sweeter when he saw his neighbors bicker.\u00a0 As the volume increased, the husband looked to his friend for assistance, but the younger man could only shrug.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll instigate the fight, but you won\u2019t see it to its end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Maximus admitted.\u00a0 That matter-of-fact statement elicited chortles from the couple, and at once all that abrasiveness melted away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know why I\u2019m concerned, don\u2019t you Alice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, my love.\u00a0 But I need to be able to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as you\u2019re free of the carbuncle, you\u2019ll be able to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t have any more of the cure.\u00a0 I just worry I won\u2019t be able to protect you.\u00a0 Women with child are especially vulnerable.\u00a0 And it gets riskier as they near their delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead,\u201d Alice teased.\u00a0 \u201cPut my mind even more at ease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clapping his hands together, Maximus finally silenced that playful argument.\u00a0 \u201cSo\u2026 how\u2019s the other ornery member of your family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOrnery?\u201d Alice exclaimed with mock intent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho, Lightning?\u201d Richard wondered.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s fine, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cSo narrow minded,\u201d she muttered with a smile before she looked to Maximus.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s well.\u00a0 She\u2019s definitely showing now\u2014I can\u2019t believe you realized before us.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been around horses all my life, and I didn\u2019t suspect a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, let\u2019s just say I have a personal interest in this,\u201d Maximus said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll make sure she carries to term,\u201d the woman said.\u00a0 \u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worry about yourself first, then Lightning, alright?\u201d\u00a0 He let out a weary sigh, and looked out the window.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to head home.\u00a0 Keep the arguing to a minimum, you two.\u00a0 Alright?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s getting dark,\u201d Alice protested.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you stay here for the night?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a summer night.\u00a0 The light will linger long enough for me to find my way home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard rose and clapped his friend on the shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cLet me walk you out.\u00a0 There\u2019s something I wanted to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch out,\u201d Alice teased.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it my turn to be coddled?\u201d Maximus added with a wink.<\/p>\n
His friend gave him a light push then, nudging him toward the door.\u00a0 When they were alone, just outside the cottage, Maximus could feel the change in Richard\u2019s attitude before he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you\u2019re not mad at me,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt was just a little light-hearted ribbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 Once he understood Maximus\u2019 concern, he waved his hand emphatically.\u00a0 \u201cNonsense.\u00a0 I\u2019m a strange man who does stranger things.\u00a0 I\u2019m worthy of some light mockery here and there.\u00a0 No, I didn\u2019t want to talk about whatever prattle goes on between you and my wife.\u00a0 I wanted to talk about compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompensation?\u201d Maximus echoed.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t drank that much tea, have I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019d like to compensate you.\u00a0 It\u2019s been too long already, and I fear for your livelihood.\u201d\u00a0 Before Maximus had a chance to protest, Richard raised his hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou did so much to save Alice\u2019s life.\u00a0 You made an ultimate sacrifice.\u00a0 I want to buy you a new horse.\u201d<\/p>\n
His friend\u2019s face contorted weirdly as too many emotions fought for prominence on his face.\u00a0 It settled into a visage of reluctant appreciation.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome now.\u00a0 It was our fault your horse collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maximus winced at that memory.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only fair.\u00a0 Let us help you get back\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want another horse,\u201d Maximus growled.\u00a0 \u201cCharcoal wasn\u2019t a beast or an animal to me.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t even a pet. \u00a0He was my friend.\u00a0 I can\u2019t just replace him.\u201d\u00a0 He spun about, bracing himself on the porch railing.\u00a0 When he found himself staring at the end of the path, where his horse had succumbed to fatigue, he squared his jaw and shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, what about your crops?\u201d Richard asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll manage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The young woman took in a deep breath, but couldn\u2019t maintain it.\u00a0 That steady inhalation led to an abrupt cough.\u00a0 She could already see in his eyes that he was not happy.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t fret, my love,\u201d Alice said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no blood.\u00a0 This is just a lingering side effect.\u201d Richard furrowed his brow anyway.\u00a0 \u201cThe carbuncle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-154","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4159,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions\/4159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}