The Collector Book One: Mana Leak by Daniel I Russell Page A

door.
    “Dad!” cried Bronwyn.
    “Morning, sweetie,” came Frank’s low voice.
    Anne swallowed.
    “Where have you been?”
    “I went to see Uncle Bill. Why? You miss me?”
    “There was a storm!”
    “Yeah,” said Charlie, “and she woke us all up!”
    Frank laughed. “Didn’t you like the thunder, hon?”
    “No,” Bronwyn replied. “It was scary.”
    “What about that lightning? Wasn’t it spectacular?”
    Both children started to talk at once, competing for their father’s attention.
    “Whoa! Quieten down, you two. I’ll be back in a minute. I’ll go and say hello to your mum, and then we can have a good talk about the storm.”
    The children murmured their reluctant agreement. The sound cut off as Frank closed the living room door. Anne’s hands tightened around the tea towel, making her fingers turn white.
    Frank walked into the kitchen, still wearing the black trousers, white shirt and blue tie from yesterday. He smiled.
    “Morning,” he said in an unusually cheery tone.
    “M-Morning…” she answered, looking down at the tea towel that she wrought between her hands.
    Frank stayed in the doorway, keeping his distance, hands on his hips. He sighed.
    “There’s no point putting this off. The longer we leave it, the worse it’ll get, I suppose…”
    Anne stayed still, her back pressed up against the sink.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Anne dared to glance up.
    Frank studied the floor, face tilted down.
    “You’re…sorry?”
    “Yes,” he said, voice hushed, probably to avoid the children from hearing. “I’m sorry I went off like that, and sorry I was stubborn enough to stay out all night.”
    “Where did you go?”
    Frank, for the first time, looked up and met her eyes.
    “William’s.”
    “Your brother?”
    He nodded.
    “But that’s an hour’s drive away! Why did you go so far?”
    “I…I had nowhere else to go.”
    “You didn’t have to go anywhere!”
    She quickly shut up and swallowed as Frank regarded her in silence. She knew she’d crossed the line by snapping.
    To her surprise, he nodded and let his head hang back down, chin nearly touching his chest.
    “I was worried, Frank. The kids were scared last night through all the thunder and lightning. They were asking for you, and I didn’t know what to say!”
    “I know, I know. I’ll make it up to them, I promise.”
    Anne huffed and turned her back on him, continuing with the washing up as a cover for her action.
    “Look,” he continued, “I know I was in the wrong. I was bang out of order and I truly am sorry. It’ll never happen again.”
    “You said that last time.”
    Frank sighed again and rubbed his temples.
    “This time is different, I swear. Driving through that storm and then coming back through this wonderful sunshine, it’s like…it’s like it represents the change in me.”
    “It’s going to take a bit more than a spot of nice weather to convince me that things are different,” Anne said, placing a cleaned bowl in the drainer.
    “You want proof then, eh? Well, I’ll show you. I’m going to take the time off that Quackenbush offered.”
    Anne turned around, away from the sink. “Really?”
    “Yes, really. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s all been getting a little too much recently. If I take a break now, it might mean avoiding a burn out later.”
    “Oh Frank, I’m so pleased.”
    “Me too. There’s been an atmosphere between us recently and it all changes right now.”
    An atmosphere? Anne thought bitterly. He calls beating me black and blue an atmosphere?
    She gazed at Frank, and his sincere eyes seemed to make all her negative thoughts drift away. He appeared genuinely sorry for his actions.
    Maybe it is a new start after all.
    “So…are we…okay now?” he ventured.
    Anne nodded.
    “Thank you,” Frank said. “Thank you so much. You’re going to see a new me.”
    I hope so.
    “By the way, this came for you this morning.” Anne threw down the tea towel and walked over to the fridge. A