Enigma

Chapter 27

Lillian woke up in her bed with no memory of how she ended up there. A brief moment of panic spiked her heartbeat before she remembered where she was. The pack. She was safe here.

Her last memory was foggy, of a brief talk with Noah about the High Council. She had the impression that she said something else, something important. But for the life of her she couldn't recall.

After dropping the kids in their lessons, she made a quick stop at the pack house before going to the fields where Robert was already elbow deep in the earth.

"Good morning!" she chirped, holding a tumbler of sweetened coffee, just the way he liked it, to his face.

Robert straightened up, took off his work gloves and accepted the coffee with a thank you. Lillian bent her head until she caught his eyes, then gave him a wide grin, batting her lashes.

"I'm not mad at you," Robert grumbled, pushing her face away with a finger on her forehead. "I needed a kick in the butt."

Lillian breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn't regret the way she spoke to him the day before, but that didn't mean she didn't feel bad about it. She liked Robert. And she was beginning to learn that she was fiercely protective of people she cared about, even at the expense of their own comfort. She still didn't know whether that was good or not.

"Great!" Lillian said, then headed to the shed to put on her work clothes.

Minutes later, she was kneeling on the ground next to Robert, her hands in the soil. "So, how did it go?" she wiggled her eyebrows. A hint of pink touched Robert's cheeks under the shade of his hat.

"Shut up," he grumbled, flicking his fingers her way. Flecks of dirt touched her cheeks. Lillian grinned. All's well that ends well.

Robert didn't go into details, but he did say he had a long talk with Jasmine, and that he was going to do his best and see where things went from there.

"I'm still not sure about this," he said, his eyes squinting at the sparkling lake. "But you're right, you know. Taking a step forward, wherever it leads us, is still better than idling in the same spot for years."

"Well, I'm glad you're finally getting your head out of your ass-"

"Hey!" More dirt flew her way.

Lillian sputtered, dirt coming out of her mouth. "What? It's true!"

Robert grumbled something under his breath.

Lillian didn't know if she was just imagining it, but Robert's eyes seemed brighter, his shoulders no longer hunched over. She smiled, certain that Jasmine would be as good for him as he would be good for her.

They spent the rest of the morning in companionable silence, interrupted by small chatters here and there. The sun was blistering, and Lillian regretted not putting on her hat. She'd wanted to get some color on her face other than the blotches of red she now had on her cheeks and nose. She could feel her brain boiling.

"Going for lunch yet?" Lillian asked when lunch time arrived.

"Not yet," Robert cleared his throat. "I'm actually cooking lunch for Jasmine and I."

Lillian grinned, opened her mouth to talk. Robert held a handful of dirt. "I dare you."

"Hehehe." Lillian widened her grin then sauntered away, not saying a thing.

The afternoon in the pack house office went in a blur of emails and documents, going from her own office to Sean's next door, or to Noah's where Lisette was stationed.

By the time training time rolled around, someone was hammering nails inside Lillian's head. Still, she pushed through. After a quick stop at her cabin to change into workout clothes, she dragged her heavy body to the training grounds.