Flecks of Gold by Alicia Buck Page B

gone.” He seemed to struggle with trying to explain, as if he had been perfectly clear in the first place.
    “Did he leave you? My father left my mom and me too. Just up and vanished without even telling her he was running off.”
    “I’m sorry, but that’s not what I meant. He has gone with the wind.”
    I felt like giggling at his inadvertent Scarlet O’Hara reference, but then I finally got that he was saying his father was dead, which sobered me instantly. “Do you miss him?”
    “I hardly knew him. I was at school, and meetings between us were formal.”
    “I’ve often wondered what it’s like to have a father,” I said.
    “You don’t remember your father then?”
    “He left my mom before I was born. In fact, she says he didn’t even know she was pregnant with me. Don’t get me wrong, though. My parents were married. He just left before she found out about me.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Oh, it’s okay. Mom and I do fine by ourselves. I take care of her.” I stopped, realizing that I had failed to protect her from Kelson. I had brought him into our home. If that was taking care of Mom, I should be fired.
    Breeohan must have seen my face fall. “It is not for the child to take care of the parent, but the parent to care for the child until the child is young no longer. Then the role is reversed.”
    “Hey, who’re you calling a child?”
    “It’s an old saying.” There was a slight smile on his face which I regarded suspiciously. “I was simply trying to tell you that it wasn’t your fault, Mary.”
    “But it is my fault. I was the one who fell for his enchantment trick and let him waltz right into our house. Ismaha said I could have stopped the enchantment any time if I’d really wanted to, but I was weak and foolish.”
    “Enchantments are sly things. Even a fully trained mage could fall under the influence of one if the caster is subtle enough about it.”
    I knew he was just trying to make me feel better, but I appreciated the effort. “I bet you’d never fall under an enchantment, or something similar, say . . . feeling befuddled over a girl.” I smiled playfully at him, thinking of Avana.
    He blushed as I had intended. Really, he was just too easy.
    We got to a town that night, and after a salute to the sun, we headed to our different rooms. The next morning’s salute creeped me out when I noticed several villagers scrutinizing my movements. I was glad Breeohan had instructed me.
    Walking was easy today. My muscles bunched and slid without any soreness at all. I also noticed that my legs looked a little leaner, a bonus I was happy to observe. On top of all this good news, I was able to perform fifty lacings before I had to stop for the day. It was time for a little fun.
    “So tell me about this Avana girl. Is she everything that is lovely and wonderful? Do you swoon at the sight of her? You do blush a lot, but somehow you don’t seem like the swooning type.”
    Color flooded Breeohan’s neck and cheeks. “I do not swoon. Only feather-headed females swoon.”
    “Well, well. I guess there are some attitudes that stay the same no matter where you go. It’s nice to know how you feel about women. Maybe I should go warn this Avana girl to keep her distance for her own good,” I softly mocked, though I felt a true twinge of misgiving.
    Breeohan’s aloof pose crumpled. He raised his hands as if to ward me off. “That’s not what I meant. I was only talking about the silly girls who do it for attention. There really are women like that, believe me. I’ve had to catch them before.”
    I couldn’t help the laugh that shot out of my mouth. “You really had to catch someone? I thought that only happened in romance novels.”
    “More than one lady has fallen conveniently into my arms when I was trying to make an escape. In fact,” he turned to me with a wily curve on his lips. “I seem to remember you falling at my feet not too long ago.”
    I stopped dead and folded my arms.