A Knight in Central Park(44)

Garrett grunted his refusal to help.

Joe looked to Susan for help, but she grabbed her little sister’s hand and quickly scampered off. Alexandra was busy talking to Lydia. After two failed attempts to mount the beast, and a couple of nips on his arm, Joe led Precious to an old decaying tree trunk. He stepped onto the log, and then helplessly sank lower and lower into the rotted wood.

A chorus of laughter rang out around him.

Ari waved the children to silence as he came to Joe’s aid. He weaved his fingers together to make a stirrup for Joe to step into and lift himself onto the saddle.

Moments later, he and Alexandra made their way past the villagers. They had all stopped what they were doing so they could wave goodbye and cheer them on. “Good luck,” the villagers shouted, reminding Joe that they were going to need it.

Just before rounding the first curve in the unpaved road, Joe looked over his shoulder, relieved to see that Alexandra’s siblings had all disappeared. Just like magic, he thought with a smile.





Chapter Twelve



If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; if not, why then this parting was well made.

—Shakespeare

They had been riding for most of the day. The sky was turning a dusty pink, and Joe found himself growing restless. If, at this very moment, he returned to his own time, nobody would believe his story of being in another time. Hell, he still didn’t believe it himself. And thinking about why or how he came to be here was making his head throb. Hoping to take his mind off of his mind-boggling situation, he decided to catch up to Alexandra and have a chat. He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks. But Precious only put her ears back and continued on at the same slow pace. Deciding he would show Precious who was boss, Joe snapped a twig from a tree and swat at the horse’s rump. Precious took off, her front legs coming off the ground before galloping ahead of Alexandra.

“Whoa, P-Precious, whoa.” Joe pulled back on the reins. By the time the animal stopped, he was dangling from the horse’s neck.

Alexandra laughed.

“Ah,” he said after he’d righted himself, and she caught up to him. “I should have known all I had to do was make a fool out of myself to get you to smile.”

“And what I wonder would make you smile in return, Sir Joe?”

The instant their eyes met, he felt another jolt of awareness pass between them. In a few short seconds, he conjured up all sorts of things that would make him smile. Then he shook his head at his wayward thoughts. Here he was, off to do battle with an evil lord, and suddenly he was thinking about taking a nice hot shower...with Alexandra. Ever since discovering she hadn’t escaped from a mental ward, he’d found himself looking at her in a whole new light.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No,” he said, an uncomfortable tightness settling within. “I was thinking about what would make me smile, and the answer is food.” That wasn’t exactly the truth, but neither was it a lie. “A steaming plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes would definitely put a smile on my face. I’m starved.”

He thought he saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face before she assured him they would be stopping shortly to break their fast.

“Are you still cross with me for bringing you here?” she asked after a moment of silence passed.

“Angry? Me? Did I seem angry?”

She caught his sarcasm then, and smiled.

He smiled back at her. “No, I’m not angry.” He glanced about, took a good look at the myriad trees surrounding them. Everything appeared as it should. The air smelt fresh and piney, the crickets and birds were doing their thing. “It’s hard to believe I’m here, in another time, in another century.” He patted the leather bag at his side. “But it’s good to know I have the last stone; my ticket home.”

“Grandfather gave you the stone?”

“He didn’t have much choice.” Joe shook his head and said, “Did you know that all of your friends back at the village think I, Joe McFarland, am the Black Knight?”

“Anything is possible. You are here, are you not?”

“True, I am here, but I am not the Black Knight.” He laughed at the thought. “My father would get a big kick out of hearing it though, his own son, the Black Knight. The notion is amusing.”

“Tell me about your world, Alexandra. What is it like to live in your time?”

“What would you like to know?”