A Nordic King(109)

Oh, please, no lectures, I think.

“I used to be a vegetarian,” Meredith says to her, “before this baby of mine started craving meat. Come on, come inside and have a rest. I’ll fix you all up something.”

“Yay! Emus!” Emil yells, running around, pretending to flap his wings.

Aksel leans into me. “Someone ought to tell him it’s what’s for dinner.”

I roll my eyes.

“Okay, well thank you so much,” I tell her. “Kids, why don’t you stay out here, out of our hair. Just don’t touch anything except the dog.”

“His name is Otis,” Meredith says as she starts toward the house.

“Otis,” I tell them. “Everything else you come across out here, ignore it. It will probably kill you.”

But the kids aren’t listening to me because they never do. They go back to chasing the dog around the driveway.

Aksel leans in and kisses me on the cheek. “I’m going to grab my phone and text Maja and the others, let them know we’ll be having dinner here. There’s food at the pub for them, right?”

I let out a dry laugh. “There should be. But if Henrik can convince Maja to eat anything on the menu, I want a picture.”

He grins. “You’re handling all this so well.” He brushes a strand of hair off my face. “I’m proud of you.”

I nod. “It feels like this place has another life now. And it’s a good one.”

“A second chance.”

“Another life and a second chance. It doesn’t get better than that.”

I look around at the red dust and the shack and the life I have now colliding with the life I had then. And I was right.

It doesn’t get better.



THE END