Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 368

Chapter 368: Climb every mountain
Mia watched Ford as he laid down next to her, looking rather worn out. Her eyes widened at his boldness, taking up space on the floor within arm’s reach, and taking her hand in his.

Her gaze darted towards her father, who paid no attention. With a startled question in her expression, she looked back at Ford. He shrugged at her lightly.

“Some things have changed.”

“I must have been out longer than I thought,” She murmured to herself.

“I’m sorry, for snapping at you,” Ford told her sleepily. “Grandpa told me a man doesn’t take things out on others.”

Mia blinked. “I suppose that’s true of any adult.”

“D’you forgive me?” His heavy-lidded gaze made her heart feel a little strange in her chest.

“Of course,” She couldn’t withhold forgiveness in the face of his unqualified apology.

“Thanks,” He smiled a little and held back a yawn.

Though she was exhausted herself, she couldn’t resist staring at his face as it began to relax into sleep.

“What changed?” She whispered. Sleeping near him openly like this was a bit disconcerting.

Ford’s eyes opened and searched hers carefully, clear and dark and open. One corner of his mouth lifted in a slightly sarcastic smile that perplexed her.

“I guess I’ve saved your life enough times that no one cares anymore,” He teased, then let his eyes drift closed again. “Of course, you dying wouldn’t do any of us any good, so your father’s ready to do whatever it takes to get you healthy, even if it means tolerating… this.”

He squeezed her hand gently, and her stomach seemed to flutter within her.

“And you’ve learned to tolerate it, too?” The question popped out before she could formulate any better phrasing. Ford lifted one eyelid to give her a confused glance, before closing it again.

“Tolerate isn’t the right word,” He shook his head slightly, his words beginning to slur. “I’ve grown accustomed to it.”

Mia had several follow up questions, but his even breathing indicated he’d fallen asleep. She sighed heavily, turning her face to press it into her cool pillow ever so slightly, trying to ease the burn in her cheeks.

Accustomed to holding her hand? Did that mean he liked it, or merely didn’t mind it? It seemed almost reflexive for him now, to respond to her touch. And yet, she couldn’t entirely convince herself one way or the other about Ford.

He’d changed a lot since they met. Would he continue changing? Who would he be by the end of all this?

She had to admit she liked him more each day. His selflessness, she thought, had always been under the surface. Maybe he wasn’t changing so much as he was becoming who he was meant to be.

If life hadn’t so cruelly let him grow up as an orphan in poverty.

Restlessly, she shifted to a more comfortable position and, eventually, fell asleep with Ford’s hand still gently holding hers. Dreams of the man colored her rest, making it more complete.

The new day, for it was certainly daytime when she woke again, showed a somewhat different scene than the night before.

Ford was awake, and attempting to help Anaisa prepare a small meal. That was curious, but Anaisa smiled and encouraged Ford’s efforts. Perhaps he wanted to get to know his maybe-sister better.

The thought warmed Mia a little, though the area was chilly. She wished there were a fire to warm her. As it was, the prospect of leaving her bedroll was not an appealing one.

But she couldn’t be lazy! Mia forced herself to sit up and stretch her stiff joints, wondering exactly how long she’d lain still.

A very long time, she imagined, from both the soreness in her muscles and other clues. For instance, nature called, rather urgently. A glance at the entrance assured her that her family had done a decent job of moving the monster’s corpse out of the way so that ingress and egress from the area were freely permissible.

The horses were not inside, and Mia didn’t see her father or Daniel; they must be tending them.

“Good Morning, Sleepyhead,” Anaisa smiled at her niece, and Mia lifted a hand to her hair. It had to be in simply miserable shape.

“Good Morning,” The younger woman responded automatically.

“Breakfast is almost ready. Since we haven’t had firewood, I set some oats to soak last night, and I’m showing Ford how to add spices to make it more flavorful.” Anaisa spared a smile for the young man who might well be her younger half-brother.

“That sounds delicious,” Mia smiled, standing. “I’ll be right back to enjoy it.”

“Do you need help?” Anaisa asked as Mia stood, so she was careful to not sway or look unsteady on her feet.

“No, I just need a private moment,” She ducked her head and started towards the light outside.

Ford smiled at her, and she smiled back briefly, but the pair exchanged no verbal greetings.

Mia’s mind swirled with questions. Her dreams had been filled with Ford, and she struggled to separate the man from the image of him her subconscious mind had created.

The real man hadn’t proposed, hadn’t declared undying love for her, and likely didn’t intend to do either of those things. She needed to set that aside and simply… be normal around him.

Not awkward.

That seemed like a tall order, and Mia grimaced. She searched for, and found, a quiet place two levels higher than their current camp to take care of her hygienic needs, including rinsing her hair in some warm water that was devoid of life, then rebraiding it.

Once her face was washed as well, she felt like a new woman. Ready to face the unknown… for there was much unknown to come.

Turning to head back to the others, she paused to glance upward, recalling the next phase of their journey from her vision.

The purplish, smoky peaks promised more than she could handle without a lot of help.