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  Hadley kept her eyes on the mount, as she stopped to untangle a knot in the mare’s mane. “Goodbye then.”

  Carl shuffled slightly. “I was going to ask you if you’d help me with something.”

  Hadley took a breath and stepped back around the horse just enough so she could see him. “What kind of thing?”

  Carl swallowed, a flash of fear creeping over his face. “You have to promise not to make a big deal about it. I just need a hand, and this isn’t the sort of thing I can say to the guys.”

  Hadley cocked her head, her curiosity outweighing her worry he’d push for a goodbye kiss. “Don’t make a big deal about what?”

  Carl shot a look behind him. “I need to see Ben, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to yank my tooth.”

  Hadley’s eyebrows rose as Carl lifted his lip and pointed to a greying tooth along the side of his bottom row of teeth, his voice distorted with the finger in his mouth. “It hurts like a mongrel.”

  Hadley frowned at him as he dropped his hand. “What do you want me to do?”

  Carl worked his lip for a moment, his forehead knitting together. “I dunno.”

  Hadley shook her head at him, still not sure what he could do. If he needed the tooth pulled, it would have to be done. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  Carl’s face drained of all colour before he slowly shook his head. “It won’t be pretty.”

  At the distraught look on his face and the waxy complexion, everything clicked into place. He was scared and too proud to ask anyone else for fear of ridicule. “You’ve been in pain for a while now?”

  He nodded. “Ever since Renhold. I can’t sleep, can barely eat.”

  Hadley winced. Thomas had a toothache when they’d been younger; the local barber had finally pulled the tooth when it turned black with rot and Thomas was unable to speak past the pain. “Does Ben have any opiates? Something to dull the pain?”

  Carl’s shrug was less than convincing. “Probably.”

  Hadley released a slow sigh as Carl rubbed at his jaw and pulled a face. “We should go now then before I have to leave.”

  Carl’s smile was wooden. “Great, thanks.”

  She put the brush aside and motioned to the door. “I’ll sit with you and hold your hand while he takes it out.”

  Carl’s expression brightened for a split second before his hand flew to his cheek again. “Bloody Jax,” he mumbled.

  Hadley’s smile twisted into a frown at the thought of the violent ex-Stormer from the south. It was because of Carl and Brute that she not had even seen him when he was conscious and spouting vile things she could only imagine.

  Surely she could sit with one of the Stormers who’d helped protect her from men like Jax? If Carl was scared and too embarrassed to ask anyone else, it wasn’t too much of a hardship.

  As she pulled the barn door closed with an anxious Carl at her side, Hadley caught sight of Brute as he slipped into his cabin, coughing and spluttering as he went.

  She frowned and turned to Carl. “Brute’s sick?”

  Carl nodded vaguely. “I think Duke and Joel might be too.”

  Hadley stared at him for a beat as they walked towards Ben’s cabin. A dull ache grew in her middle. “But not you?”

  Carl shrugged and huffed out a breath. His gaze slid to her, and the tiniest of smiles flickered over his face. “The gods favour the strong. Let’s go do this so I can at least try to come with you.”

  Hadley stopped, cold edging through her at his words. “You want to get your tooth pulled just so you can come with me? What about your holiday?

  Carl waved his hand as though her previous protestations were irrelevant. “Duke’s sick, Brute’s obviously gone soft; what am I going to do around here when you and Kade leave? Learn how to knit?”

  Hadley narrowed her gaze, trying to feign indifference, though her heart was beginning to thud against her ribs. “I’m not sure Cester will agree to that.”

  Carl shrugged. “What choice does he have? He needs this resolved, and he knows Kade’s not operating at full strength yet.”

  A shudder of alarm flowed through her. “He’s not better yet?”

  Carl cocked an eyebrow. “He’s better, but not all the way. Haven’t you noticed? He’s still not moving as freely, and any time he’s tired, he starts slurring.”

  Hadley stared at him. How had Carl noticed all that but she hadn’t? Had she been so intent on not looking at him, she’d failed to see he was still not well? Carl cocked his head towards Ben’s cabin. “Time’s a wasting.”

  Hadley took a step forward. If Carl was right, then Kade did need help, and not the kind of help she could give.

  The door to Ben’s cabin swung open, and the old healer stood peering at them, his hair and eyebrows unruly. “What’s all the jibber jabber about?”

  Carl cleared his throat and flashed her a horrified look before he replied in an unsteady voice. “I told you at dinner. I need you to take a look at the tooth I chipped the night of the fight.”

  Ben eyed him for a moment before his gaze slid to her, and he stepped out. “And you’re here why? To distract him?”

  Hadley managed a weak smile as Carl took hesitant steps through the doorway, lingering to send a pained look her way. A thought sparked in her mind. Who better to ask about Kade’s health than the man who’d treated him?

  She stepped inside, and Carl’s pallor seemed to grow worse as Ben closed the door behind them. Looking like a trapped animal, Carl’s swagger and charm disappeared. Ben shook his head. “Sit down, and I’ll find something to dull the pain, boy.”

  Carl swallowed and staggered back to take a seat on the bed. Hadley joined him and gave him as kind as smile as she could muster. For all his flirting, for all his bravado, he was just a scared boy underneath it all.

  To confirm her thinking while Ben slid bottles around with his back to them as he prepared whatever instruments he needed, Carl let slip a groan. “By the gods, I’d rather get stabbed than do this.”

  She gave him another smile, hoping to distract him from what would be a huge amount of pain; even with the opiate, it would be excruciating.

  Her eyes on the old healer, she asked the question that had been bothering her. “Is Kade really well enough to travel?”

  Carl scoffed, seemingly irritated her attention had strayed to the other Dawson Stormer. His face dropped as Ben turned back around with a pair of pliers in his hands.

  Ben cocked his head. “As long as he’s careful not to knock his head again, he’ll be fine.”

  Hadley swallowed hard. Her own anxiety crept over her as Ben set the pliers down on the bench behind him and began mixing up a drink which he handed it to Carl.

  Carl slid her an apprehensive look as he accepted the drink and swallowed it, making faces as he forced it down.

  Ben settled on the stool and peered at her. “How does Kade seem to you?”

  Like a dangerous animal I want to tame.

  Hadley sat up a little straighter and tried to force the blush away. “I haven’t seen a lot of him since I’ve been back.”

  Ben rubbed his chin. “Hmm, well, be sure to let me know if the nightmares continue, and make sure he rests as much as possible. These injuries have a way of sneaking up on people.”

  Hadley sat back a little, surprise leaching through her veins. Kade was having nightmares? She thought to ask a question, her attention diverted by Carl’s too rapid breathing.

  His face seemed even pastier; out of pity she reached for his hand and gave it a small squeeze before releasing it. “What do you mean these injuries? I don’t understand; I thought he was healed?”

  Ben checked on Carl before answering. “Mostly, yes. But I don’t know what it will take to set it off again. He still needs to be careful; that’s why Cester wanted to make him captain. It’s an easier life.”

  Carl’s voice was weak as he spoke. “That’s why?”

  Ben’s expression hardened a little. “Not the only reason: he’
s trustworthy and is one of the most dedicated Stormers I’ve ever seen. So don’t you be messing around with this one, missy: he’s all talk and no follow through.”

  His finger punctured the air as he pointed at her, then looked at Carl who seemed to be struggling to stay upright.

  Hadley’s cheeks heated in annoyance. “I’m here as his friend, that’s all.”

  Ben snorted. “Does he know that?”

  She didn’t bother with a reply when Ben rose from the stool and motioned to Carl, who was watching her with a glazed expression. “Hey, gorgeous,” he slurred.

  Hadley’s gaze shot to Ben. “It worked that fast?”

  Ben chuckled. “I imagine the amount I had Ma Hamlin sneak into his porridge this morning had sped up the process somewhat.”

  Carl spluttered a laugh, his lips pulling into a lazy smile as he wiggled a finger at Ben. “You knew.”

  Ben shrugged his bony shoulders. “I told you the night of the fight, you’d probably be back to have it out. Once a tooth is chipped, rot sets in quick.”

  When Carl merely shrugged, Ben huffed a sigh and turned to her. “No one listens to old Ben until it’s too late.”

  Hadley’s attention waned as Ben told a sleepy-sounding Carl off. His words sank into her as he caught her attention and told her to get ready to distract Carl.

  What if Kade got hurt again? All because he was helping her to look for Thomas?

  She was still thinking about how Kade may not be as well as he made out, when she helped Carl to a chair with an angled slant to the back; she’d only seen the like of it once before when Thomas had been in the same situation.

  Carl stumbled into it, a wide grin on his face. “I knew you’d come ‘round.”

  Hadley settled in beside him on the stool and kept her eyes locked on his in case he saw what Ben was doing. Carl’s eyes narrowed, and his hand shot out. “Don’t think any less of me if I scream?”

  She shook her head and grasped his hand firmly, holding his gaze as he struggled to keep his breathing even. “No more flirting, please.”

  Carl’s fingers tightened around hers. “You like him, don’t you?”

  Ben shushed them before she could answer. Her own fear bounced around her body as Ben moved in front of Carl.

  Nausea settled in her stomach as Ben slowly opened the pliers and told Carl to open his mouth as wide as possible and not to open his eyes even for a second. Her heart in her throat, Hadley closed her own eyes tightly and braced herself for the screams to come.

  Chapter Four

  From inside the hall where Kade had located him, Cester’s shoulders rose and fell as he relayed the news. Were it not for the faint twitch of his eye, Kade would have thought he wasn’t too bothered that once again his plans were changing.

  Cester finally spoke. “I’d hoped the illnesses were mild. But apparently, they aren’t.”

  “What do you want to do? Wait till they’re better?”

  Cester released a sigh. “We’ve delayed long enough. You’ll have to go south as planned.”

  Kade held his voice steady. “But we need a third; Carl’s the only one who’s left.”

  His captain nodded and raised his hands as if in defeat before he gestured to the doors. “I can’t imagine he’ll be wanting to leave again?”

  Kade thought as they stepped through the hall doors and down the hall. “No, but he might be more inclined if he thinks there’s a chance to redeem himself?”

  Cester glanced at him. His reluctance evident in the frown he wore. “Perhaps, but—”

  At the sound of an horrific yowl from outside, Kade’s body flooded with energy. He sprinted with Cester on his heels, fingers yanking out the closest knife as he primed to fight.

  They hit the stairs, Cester slightly ahead as they dashed towards where the blood-curdling screams were emanating. Cabin doors opened as Stormers, including a bewildered looking Brute, staggered out—even the youngest appeared, weapons at the ready.

  “What is that?” Joel asked.

  Cester’s shoulders relaxed as he pointed to Ben’s cabin, a faint grimace on his face. “I believe that is your cousin seeing about the tooth that needed pulling.”

  Kade swallowed thickly, sheathing his knife as Brute stepped back with a sneeze and ushered the Stormers back into their cabins before heading back towards his own.

  Ben’s cabin door opened, and Kade’s heart jumped as Hadley appeared in the doorway, face drawn and pale. She saw them approaching, and her knees sagged a second before he made a grab for her. Hadley met his eye then winced. “There was so much blood, I had to get outside.”

  Kade glanced at Cester, who was eyeing them. “What were you doing in there with Carl?” Cester asked.

  Meg’s voice interrupting whatever reply Hadley had, she met them at a run, breathless, cheeks flushed, eyes wide. “What on earth is happening?”

  Her eyes flicked to Hadley, still held in Kade’s grip, and she frowned as she collected her breath. “Are you alright?”

  Hadley nodded weakly and tried to right the slump that was making her list towards him. “Carl needed a tooth pulled; he asked me to sit with him.”

  Meg glanced at Cester, and they shared a similar unbelieving expression before Meg stepped towards Ben’s cabin. “I’ll go check on him; maybe Hadley should go lie down? You look awful.”

  Kade assessed Hadley again. She did look terrible, like she was about to be violently ill. His temper flared as he drew Hadley away, ignoring Cester’s cautioning look.

  “I’m just taking her to sit down for a bit, just over there,” he said, pointing to a bench seat.

  Cester nodded. “Fine, I need a moment to see if Carl is even able to travel.”

  He stalked off, and Kade placed his arm around Hadley’s waist, half dragging her towards the nearest place they could sit. What was Carl thinking? Asking her to sit in on something so gruesome?

  Hadley’s knees buckled as they reached the silvered bench seat, and she closed her eyes against the sun. “I’ll be fine.”

  Kade shifted slightly so he wasn’t sitting so close. “Why did you go?”

  Hadley’s eyes fluttered open, and she angled her head to frown at him. “I felt sorry for him. He was in pain. I think that’s why he’s been so unbearable these last few days; he said he hasn’t been eating or sleeping.”

  Kade cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe, but he didn’t need to drag you in there with him.”

  Hadley gave him a weak smile. “He just needed someone to not judge him for feeling weak. We all need that sometimes, don’t we?”

  Kade’s throat closed over as she locked eyes with him. Why was she looking at him like that? Like she knew something he didn’t? “I guess. I never really thought about it before.”

  Hadley raised an eyebrow, a little of the colour coming back to her cheeks. “But it would be nice though? To have a person who didn’t laugh at you, didn’t condemn you and just took you as you were in spite of all your shortcomings?” She edged closer, causing his pulse to speed. “It’s nice to not have to pretend to be strong with just one person, I think.”

  He gulped as her words sank in deeper, finding the place he’d guarded so long. The place that was tender and bruised. The place he’d closed off to protect it.

  He shrugged as glibly as possible, shaking off her words as he rose to his feet. Distance. That was what they needed right now—not the sort of conversation she wanted to have. He wasn’t ready for that. What was the point of opening yourself up, when it could all be snatched away?

  Kade gestured to Ben’s cabin. “I’ll go see what’s happening. Duke’s sick, so we need a replacement.”

  Hadley nodded slowly before a sad smile caused a knot to form in his gut. “Carl said as much. He was hoping to come: that’s why he got the tooth out now.”

  Kade’s eyes widened. What was Carl playing at? Was he still trying it on with Hadley? Using her compassion as a tool to get closer to her?

  As he told her to take it easy unt
il it was time to depart, his mind tugged at the possible reasons Carl had for putting himself through indescribable pain just so he could tag along.

  The moment he stepped through Ben’s door, all his annoyance evaporated as Carl lay on the bed, a watery-eyed, pitiful wretch holding a blood-soaked rag to his lip. Meg sat beside him on the bed, peering down at him, while Cester and Ben spoke in hushed tones across the room.

  Kade’s stomach roiled as Carl groaned and shoved at Meg. She made it clear before he heaved up what little he had in his stomach, and Kade’s eyes shot to Cester. “He can’t travel.”

  Cester’s shoulders slumped as Ben shook his head. “Not for a while. Day at most,” Ben said.

  Kade blew out a sigh as he looked to Cester for direction. “Now what?”

  Cester’s shoulders raised before Meg slid in beside him, and she stared up at Cester with the most blatant attempt to manipulate Kade had ever seen. “You and I could go?”

  Cester’s mouth opened a fraction before he gaped at Kade, a silent plea in his panicked eyes. “I don’t know that will work.”

  Meg smiled sweetly as she wrapped her arm around Cester’s. “Why? You can work with Kade, and I can keep Hadley company; it’s the perfect solution.”

  Cester shook his head rapidly. “There are wedding plans to be made, details to be finalised.”

  Meg’s lip protruded slightly. “Oh, of course, well then.”

  Carl gingerly pulled himself to sitting and pulled the rag away from his puffy mouth. “Give me an hour to walk this off, and I’ll make it.”

  Ben huffed out a breath. “Don’t be a dope; once the opium wears off, you’ll probably pass out from the pain.”

  Carl waved a hand in the air. “Then give me some for the trip, it’ll only be rough the first few days, right?”

  Cester’s expression turned eager. “He’ll be able to function by the time they get to the south?”

  Ben assessed Carl for a long moment before shaking his head. “He’ll be sore and, knowing him, grumbling no end, but by the end of the week, he’ll be fine.”

  Kade stared at Carl who wasn’t meeting his eye and listened half-heartedly as Ben issued instructions Carl was to adhere to. The opiate was to be taken at regular stops, and he was to eat only soft foods and avoid the side the tooth had been on.