Of Water and Madness (3 page)

“Me dying or me haunting you?” he asked, biting into one of the sandwiches. She only smiled, but he was instantly distracted by the incredible flavor fest in his mouth. “Hey, this is good.”

“The dill isn’t too strong?”

“Which part is the dill?” He gulped down the second half of the tiny sandwich and grinned.

“The green stuff was dill and there was more dill in the mixture beneath the salmon. There was also lemon juice, parsley, thyme, tarragon, and nutmeg.”

“Mmm hmm, very interesting. Can I have another one?”

“I don’t want you filling up on the first course; there are four more to go,” Rhiannon chided, slipping one more sandwich onto his plate before taking a bite of one herself. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she chewed and her sage green eyes darkened a bit as she lost herself in the flavors, critiquing her own creation. He just watched her, as always fascinated by her serious, analytical nature.

“I feel it needs a bit more nutmeg,” she said thoughtfully.

“I feel I need more food. Keep it coming, chef,” Liam said playfully, poking her with his plate.

“Yes, master,” she muttered, though her mouth curved as she unearthed another carefully packed container from her basket. “Next course, caprese salad.”

She dished out basil leaves, tomato slices, and big chunks of fresh mozzarella onto his plate, and then drizzled oil over it. Handing him a fork, she sat back, sipped cider and watched as he sampled it.

He forked up a bite and groaned, the coolness of the cheese blended with the bite of the tomato and zesty dressing catching him off guard. “This is good, too. Why don’t we have this salad every night?”

“Thea doesn’t care for it, though I don’t know why.” Rhiannon filled her own plate and scooped up a bite, chewing delicately, again examining her own creation. When she swallowed, she smiled triumphantly at him. “This is just right, I must say.”

Sitting up, Liam set aside his now empty plate and reached out to brush her hair away from her face, cupping her cheek and eyeing her intently. He saw the change in her eyes, from coolly in control to dark, nervous awareness in an instant.

“There are a lot of things that are just right now, Rhia,” he murmured, tenderly stroking his thumb along her cheek, his deep blue eyes intense on hers. “Don’t you think?”

She set her own plate aside without breaking eye contact with him and reached up with her hand to slide over his. She tilted her head and pressed her lips to his palm, almost experimentally, as if wondering if such a thing were alright, or expected. How little she knew just how powerful that one gesture was to him.

When she turned her head back to look at him, he leaned in and captured her lips with his, his hand trailing back to grasp her waves of dark hair. He felt her give in, felt her submit to him, and he knew it was a special kind of magic. For he was truly the one who submitted to her, all the time…all she had to do was ask and he would be at her side in an instant.

“I love you,” he said softly against her lips, the words flowing as easily as a steady stream through a quiet forest.

“I love you too.” She was still getting used to saying the phrase, even though her heart knew the emotion so well now. It had always been him, after all…

A sound to their left had them both turning, only to see Rohan, Lucian and Clynn strolling together, clearly in a deep discussion. They were all smiling, and Rohan let out a loud laugh at something Clynn said, filling the courtyard with the sound. Liam saw Rhiannon’s eyes fill as she watched her father, who had been looking happier by the day.

The three men walked down the cobblestone pathway, and when they came across Liam and Rhiannon, they stopped mid-step.

“Is that caprese salad I see?” Lucian asked, leaning over to get a glimpse at Rhiannon’s plate.

“Back off, old man, this picnic lunch is mine.” Liam grinned, wrapping an arm casually around Rhiannon as he looked up at the older men.

Lucian wasn’t swayed, however, and continued to examine the contents of their lunch. “Oh, and smoked salmon with dill!” he said excitedly, his eyes glittering with good humor. “Remind me again what you did to deserve this?”

“I made her fall in love with me,” Liam responded, grinning ear-to-ear like a fool at his father’s answering laugh.

“Rhiannon has always been an excellent cook.” Rohan beamed, smiling down at his daughter proudly.

She blushed, flustered at having her father compliment her so easily. That was yet another thing Liam knew she’d have to get used to.

“Where are you guys off to?” Liam asked, enjoying the sight of the three of them together again, like how he knew the old days had been.

“Just out for a walk. We old folks can still do such things, you know.” Lucian winked, earning another laugh from Rohan.

Clynn, being the most intuitive of the trio, turned to his friends with a knowing smile. “Perhaps we should get to it, give the kids some privacy.”

“Mmm, yes.” Lucian sent one last, contented glance at his son and the girl he loved, and patted both men on the back. “Come along.”

Liam and Rhiannon watched their fathers walk away and resume talking and they both turned to each other at once with identical smiles.

“He’s so happy to have his friends back.” Rhiannon sighed, genuinely pleased.

“And his friends are happy to have him back, as well,” Liam told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Now all we gotta do is get your dad and Brock to make up, and then they will really be complete.”

Rhiannon snorted, the idea of her father and Brock ever getting along a farfetched impossibility in her eyes.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath, Liam,” she advised, tilting her head up for another kiss. “Now, my darling guinea pig, I have more food to feed you.”

He was frustrated.
Monumentally and hopelessly frustrated, and with no clear solution at hand.

There was a tremendous amount of flooding in the Tennessee River Valley, and it was all because the amount of water he had estimated for the storm had not been distributed as evenly as they had expected. Capri, for reasons unknown, had pushed the storm through the area at a much slower pace than they’d agreed upon, and now the valley was flooded well beyond what was needed.

He knew it was a simple miscommunication on his part with her, but damnit, now it made him look bad because whenever there was too much water somewhere, it fell on him. And when Thea got wind of it he’d have to explain himself and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

With an irritated sigh, he stood before the globe and enhanced his view of the valley, enlarging it under a floating magnifying glass, deciding whether or not he could push some of the water down an available river canal. Sometimes these things could be repaired, with a little nudging. Thea didn’t approve of using means that were less than natural, but this was important, and it was the only solution other than letting the poor people drown on his behalf.

He was neck deep in even more guilt and annoyance when the door burst open and his favorite distraction bolted in.

“I’m back!” Blythe announced cheerfully, racing across the little bridge and onto the platform, right into his waiting arms.

He grunted as she hefted herself up, and he spun her around playfully as he always did. Already he felt better, just by hearing her voice and seeing her infectious smile.

When he set her down, he cupped her smiling face in his hands and planted a big, noisy kiss on her lips.

“There’s my girl,” he greeted, feeling his frustration ebb away as if it had never existed. On impulse, he pulled her against him for a tight hug, realizing how much he had missed her. “How was the trip?”

She pulled away from him and beamed. “Excellent. I got to eat cactus and drink tequila with a worm in the bottle and everything!”

“Yuck.” Liam grimaced, though he couldn’t help but laugh at the same time. “That sounds…interesting.”

“There’s not much else to do in the desert.” She shrugged, then grinned suggestively. “Except stay in bed all day, of course.”

“Okay, I really didn’t need to hear that.” Liam wrapped one arm around her neck in a playful headlock and held her there as she squirmed. “Maybe I should tell you what Rhia and I did this morning…she’s really quite flexible, you know.”

“Ew!” Blythe shrieked, kicking her legs and fighting to pry his arm from her neck. “Please don’t, oh God. I’ll throw up on you, I swear to it.”

Laughing, he released her and patted her on the head. “You don’t waste food like that.”

“True.” She fluffed up her hair and blew at her bangs that had fallen into her eyes. “So I hear we’re having an engagement party tonight.”

“Just in time. The wedding is in three weeks.”

Blythe rolled her shoulders, looking restless. “You’d think Capri would be more stressed out. God knows I would be. Sheesh, marriage? How…grown up.”

With a laugh, Liam draped an arm over her shoulders and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re telling me you haven’t given one thought to marrying the bounty hunter?”

Pouting a bit, Blythe shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s like that between us, not yet. I mean, I love him, and he loves me, but I don’t know if I’m ready to be so grown up yet.”

“Marriage doesn’t automatically make you old, my love. It just proves you’re in it for the long haul.”

She chewed on that for a moment, then grinned at him. “This coming from the hopeless romantic. I bet you’re just dying to ask Rhiannon to marry you, huh?”

Liam smiled sheepishly, then dug into his pocket, unearthing the ring. When he handed it to her, Blythe’s mouth fell open.

“Jesus, Liam, that’s one hell of a rock,” she stammered, her eyes wide as she stared at the square sapphire stone.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets now for lack of something better to do with them. The gaping look on his sister’s face was unnerving him. “Is it too much?”

“Well, I don’t know much about this kind of stuff, but I know it’s gorgeous.” She noted the leafy patterns engraved in the white gold and managed a flustered smile. “Someone like Rhiannon, being all noble and proper and stuff…I think she’ll love it, Liam.”

She rose on her toes to kiss his cheek, tears in her eyes. “God, I’m getting all mushy. Damnit.”

He laughed and accepted the ring back, shoving it back into his pocket. “C’mon, let’s go get some lunch. Wipe those tears away so your boyfriend doesn’t think I upset you. I don’t feel like getting my ass kicked today.”

“Okay.” She let out a watery laugh and wrapped an arm around his waist. “So when are you going to ask her?”

He pulled her closer as they walked to the door, his lips curving. “When the time is right. I’ve waited this long, haven’t I? I can wait a little bit longer for her to be ready.”