Bear Bride (Bear Cove #1)(12)
A third round of knocks came from behind the front door's curtains and Keyla parted them just a notch to peek out at the nightly visitor. She gasped in surprise and immediately threw open the door.
It was Troy.
She rushed him in and as soon as he stepped into the warm pastel light of the front parlor, he fell to his knees. Keyla could barely contain her shock. His hair was matted with blood and stains of it had dried up over his forehead and cheeks. A deep scratch ran along his jawline and disappeared into the ripped collar of his wedding shirt, which was now soaked with blood and dirt. The rest of his clothes were ripped and dirty and his luminous light-blue eyes glowed with a feverish flame.
Without thinking and simply reacting to her first instinct, Keyla sunk down next to him and wrapped her hands around his neck, pressing her face against his chest and feeling his muscles contract with the pain of his wounds.
"Troy," she said, hardly catching her breath, "you are okay! You are alive!"
He only lifted his hand and patted down her soft hair. Then he gently pushed her away from him and closed the door behind his back.
"I needed to make sure you were alright," he said in a raspy, tired voice. "I needed to know you got home safe. Sorry for coming here like that."
"Stop it. You need to sit down," said Keyla and taking him by the hand, she ushered him into the kitchen where the fire had died down in the hearth. Keyla quickly busied herself with fixing him a tea. She tried to be as quiet as possible with the cups and the sugar bowl, since she didn't want to trouble Cynthia any more tonight. Plus, she was still dizzy at the surreal sensation of being alone with Troy in a room, despite his grave condition.
"So, are you okay?" he asked once he had crouched down next to the dead fire, filling it with fresh wood and lighting it up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A bit confused. What happened out there? How is your brother?"
It was strange to talk to him as if they had only parted a few hours ago, instead of having been away from each other for weeks, yet it felt completely natural.
"My brother?" Troy seemed lost. "Oh, Matt. Sure. He managed to get away just fine. It's not the first time we get bear visitors in the camp," he said and when she turned to look at him, he was facing the fresh fire, his face hidden in the shadows.
Keyla brought out a woolen blanket from one of the kitchen cabinets and spread it in front of the fireplace, handing him a steaming cup and settling next to him. His skin and clothes had absorbed the warmth from the flames and she felt electric sparks fly when she brushed her arm against his. She sat down next to him on the blanket, cradling her own cup of fragrant coffee. She had rested enough and she could really use a cup right now. She knew that Troy was naturally reticent and she surely realized he was exhausted, but she pressed on. She just had to know.
"These wounds? Did the bears attack you?"
"I had to protect my family. I had no choice. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine soon."
She noticed he was basking in the warmth of the fire as if he was sunbathing on a beach and soon, under the effects of the hot tea, his face started to glow and the exhaustion in his eyes was suddenly fading.
"Do you want me to come up there with you and help?" Keyla asked. "I can bring some of my aunt's herbs and treat any wounded people. She's taught me how. Look!" With that she pulled up the hem of her nightgown to reveal her smooth legs up to the knees with the clean bandages covering the places she had been hurt. "They are almost healed now."
"No, no," Troy said and lifted a hand to indicate it was out of the question, "we can't go back there. The camp is deserted. Everyone's gone. That's why I came here. I couldn't just leave without seeing you first."
"What do you mean deserted? Where is everyone? What about Corin?"
Troy turned to face her with a puzzled look on his face. As his flashing blue eyes focused on hers, she felt her stomach flutter the same way it had on every single occasion she had been with him in the past. He took her hand into his and a tiny shiver jolted through her body, goosebumps prickling her bare arms underneath the shawl. In the silence of the night, with just the playful snapping of the burning wood and the distant sounds of the night birds, Keyla wondered if this wasn't after all a dream.
"Corin is gone, too," Troy said after a while, "maybe this was for the best, after all--" His voice trailed off and Keyla fought the urge to stand up and dance and scream. Then she returned to the reality of the situation and stifled her smile.
"So, you said you are leaving," she said finally and felt another pang at the thought of losing him so soon after he had finally come back to her, "Where are you going? Are you going to look for your family?"
"I need to, though I'm not sure where to even start," he said and handed her the empty cup, trying to stand up. He hesitated for a moment and crashed back down onto the blanket.
"You are not serious," said Keyla reproachfully, "I'm not letting you go anywhere like this. You can always leave tomorrow. Wait here and rest and I'll fetch Aunt Cynthia's bag. We'll have to take care of these or they might get infected."
She started to stand up but Troy eased her back next to him.
"Hey," he said into her ear and his warm breath tickled the sensitive skin of her neck, "stay with me. That's all I need. I have to leave in a couple of hours anyway. I'd rather spend them with you."