Ire Taverness's Arc

Chapter 19 of 19

They reached the clearing by midday. Kael lifted the baby down first, then Ire. He carried both bundles inside the tent before she could reach for one. She stood in the sun and watched him work. The bath was already filled. A cloth hung over the crib spot the way he had said. A small pot sat near the fire ring with stew warming inside. He must have set it before he rode back for them. Ire sat on the bench outside the tent and unbuttoned her shirt for the baby. Kael brought her a cup of water and set it beside her without a word. He went back to the cart and started unloading jars. "Kael." "Mm." "Come sit." He set the jar down and came. He crouched in front of her the way he had crouched by the cradle. The baby's small mouth worked against her breast. His orange eyes moved from the baby to Ire's face. "You built the crib," she said. "You packed the cart. You rode two days out and cut yourself on your own wire fixing it for us. You cooked before I got here." "I know what I did." "Let me thank you." He looked at his hands. The scab on his forearm had cracked open at one edge. He pressed his thumb to it and closed it again. "You don't owe me thanks, Ire." "I want to give it anyway." "Then give it. But I'm not carrying it like a debt." His voice went quiet the way it did when he meant a thing. "I'm happy to do it. All of it. The cart. The crib. The pot. You. Her. I'm happy." She felt her throat close. She had wanted to hand him something. A speech. A gift. Some weight equal to what he had carried for her. He was refusing the trade. "Then I don't know what to do with it," she said. "With what." "All of it. What you give me. It just keeps sitting in me." He reached up and put his hand flat against her cheek. The baby had stopped nursing and was asleep against her. “Baby, I love you so deeply.” He said. She nodded. She did not trust her voice. He stayed crouched there until her breathing evened out. Then he stood and went back to the jars. She watched him move around the clearing. She stopped counting what she owed him. She let the sun warm the top of the baby's head and drank the water he had brought her. That night she lay beside him with the baby between them. She did not thank him again. She put her hand on his chest and left it there. He covered her hand with his and did not move it for a long time. She understood then. He was not doing it for her to repay. He was doing it because this was already the life he wanted.