A Knight in Central Park (14 page)

As Ari brushed dry mud from the horse’s flanks, Joe crinkled his nose as the pungent odor of sour milk and rotten eggs wafted by, drawing his gaze to a group of women a few yards away. They were in the process of emptying chamber pots and buckets filled with unimaginable stench. Too bad they didn’t think to take the pots a little further downwind.

While Ari bent low to check the horse’s hooves for stones, Joe looked about and saw Alexandra’s siblings staring at him. The girls regarded him with curiosity while Garrett glared at him with open hostility. The boy’s eyes had become steely narrowed slits; the same evil look that had caused Harig to put a blindfold on the kid.

The idea of setting off for the open road was looking more and more appealing. He certainly didn’t want to hang around a bunch of kids. Nor did he have any desire to stay and listen to grandpa sing praises of his beloved granddaughter for the next twenty-nine days. And that wasn’t to say he didn’t like Alexandra. Quite the opposite. He liked her a lot. She was smart, fairly amusing, and she was pretty.

On the other hand, she was opinionated, stubborn and sneaky...very sneaky. Only a sly woman such as Alexandra could manage to get under his skin so quickly. Somehow she’d worked her magic on him, making him yearn to catch a glimpse of her, making him want to kiss her every time he so much as talked to her.

How could he even think about falling for a woman like Alexandra? Never mind that she was from another time. She was a slob for God’s sake. She threw chicken bones on the floor, wiped her mouth with her sleeve. She even snorted when she laughed. It wasn’t really a snort, he mused, but more like a cute little pig noise. He smiled at the thought of it. Damn. He liked her all right. She made him smile. He enjoyed talking to Alexandra when she stayed at his home. More than once she’d managed to make him forget about his work. More than once, she’d made him wonder if life had more to offer.

Joe exhaled as his thoughts turned to her grandfather. The old man presumed to know everything about him, cocksure that Joe McFarland was the man who was going to right all wrongs and save the day, confident that destiny would have Joe married off to his granddaughter when all was well and done.

No matter how much Alexandra made him think and yearn and covet, forming any sort of long-lasting relationship with her was out of the question. He had his future all planned out. Nothing would stop him from accomplishing his goals.

Joe reached out to pat the horse’s neck. Its ears flattened back against its head right before massive, ugly teeth came after him. He yanked his hand back.

“Watch your fingers,” Ari warned without turning about from the hoof he was working on.

Joe checked to make sure he still had all ten fingers. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

Ari straightened. “It’s my wife’s horse. She calls the animal Precious.” He lowered his voice. “But you can call the stubborn beast anything you want once you ride out of here. Temperamental mount, but also strong and sturdy. Just like my wife.” Ari guffawed, then slapped Joe’s back.

Joe managed a half-smile in return.

The animal pushed Ari with his nose, nearly knocking him off his feet. “Stop that!” Ari complained, raising a hand.

“Don’t shout at my baby,” Lydia scolded as she came to the horse’s aid. She smoothed a meaty hand over the horse’s muzzle without losing one finger. Then she reached into her pocket and gave Precious a lump of sugar. “Treat her right,” she told Joe, “and she will do the same by you. You have only to earn her trust.”

Joe was listening to the couple’s helpful hints when Alexandra approached, telling Joe that it was time to set off. She looked tired, much too fragile to be going off to rescue her sister from a fortress known as Radmore’s Keep. Joe glanced about. “Where’s everybody else? Your grandfather said we would have help.”

Alexandra sighed. “Grandfather has a tendency to say that which people wish to hear. He means well.”

Joe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “We can’t save your sister alone. What about those men over there?” He pointed to a dozen men working the fields, using oxen to till the land next to the fields of wheat, readying it for seed.

“They are needed here, but there is a chance we will receive aid before we reach Levonshire, the city bordering Radmore’s Keep. Grandfather assured me he would send message to his good friend, Sir Charles, in hopes that he can gather a small army of men to aid us.”

“Maybe we should wait here until we hear back from Sir Charles.”

“Nay. Sir Charles and his men, if they come, will wait for us near the borders of Levonshire and Trent.” With that said, Alexandra pulled on the reins and headed off to say goodbye to her siblings.

With each passing moment, Joe saw their little adventure turning sour. But what choice did he have? Little kids and grandpa or dangerous mission with one small woman at his side? One glance at Garrett made him quickly opt for the unsafe route through the woods. As their departure neared, the villagers became restless, speaking to one another in excited whispers. More than likely, they were taking bets on how long he would survive.

“They’ve been waiting a long while for this day to come,” Ari said, as if he could read Joe’s mind.

“Why? What’s so special about today?”

“The people of Brookshire have been living in fear for too long, heavily burdened with excessive taxes, never knowing how long the crops will keep them fed.”

“Has anyone spoken to the king about this?”

Ari shook his head. “’Twas King Henry’s own bidding that common folk be heavily taxed. Unlike the middle class, we can ill afford to pay the king in return for peace and good government.”

“But why all the excitement?”

Ari smiled. “Because you, Sir Joe, have finally come. The people of Brookshire rejoice the arrival of The Black Knight.”

Joe choked on air. “The Black Knight?”

“Aye.”

Joe assumed Alexandra had mentioned the Black Knight. “They think I’m The Black Knight?”

“Nay. They don’t think you are the Black Knight; they know you are him.” Ari winked. “Just as you do.”

Joe remained silent. If Ari knew what he really thought, the man would be highly offended.

“’Tis hope you see in their eyes,” Ari went on, “for we have been praying for you to come and right the wrongs unjustly set upon us. It is a miracle of God that you are here.”

Joe looked again at the people surrounding him, dressed in rags, most without shoes or boots. What had he gotten himself into? He was no savior. No hero. But here he was, in another world, with dozens, maybe hundreds, of people counting on him. Not only was he expected to save Alexandra’s sister, he was supposed to save an entire village. He peered back into Ari’s weathered face, felt his pulse roar in his ears. “You’ve got to tell these people that I am no miracle. I can’t help them.”

Ari did not look convinced.

Joe didn’t want to be the one to disappoint all of these people. It was too much pressure, too much responsibility for one man. He had to make Ari see that he wasn’t their savior. “I’ve been to church maybe two times in my entire life. God would never have picked me to do anything so grand, so noble, so honorable.”

Ari laid a gentle hand on Joe’s shoulder.

“Look at my hands,” Joe rambled on, holding his hands outward, palms up. “Not a callus in sight. I’ve never touched a sword in my life. I gave up using my fists about the same time I gave up waiting for my father to show up when I was small. I’m just a regular Joe who was this close,” he said, pinching two fingers together, “to having a nice, respectable life. And then Alexandra showed up and BAM, shot it all to—”

“I knew it!” Garrett cried out, startling both men. “I told you he was not the Black Knight!”

“Not now, Garrett,” Ari said, before turning his attention back to Joe. “Alexandra said you saved her grandfather and her brother. Sir Richard’s henchman mentioned to an innkeeper yester eve that you snapped your fingers and caused flames to dance at your fingertips. But it wasn’t until Harig saw the medallion that he realized who you were.”

Ari gestured toward the medallion hanging about Joe’s neck. “That’s when he knew the Black Knight had arrived. The people of Brookshire have prayed for this day.” Ari clapped him on the shoulder again. “If anyone can help us, ’Tis you.”

Joe watched Ari walk away. Crazy talk. He turned toward the horse, made sure the animal was tied securely to the post before he began to search through the saddlebags, slowly at first, and then faster, tossing out a woolen blanket and some dried fruit in order to find what he was looking for.

There it was. His briefcase. He smoothed his hand over the leather case. The familiar object calmed him, told him he was sane after all. He glanced at the people lining the path. Hope filled their eyes. Ignoring the rot and the stench, he gazed at the tiny huts they called home. He thought about his work, about all of the endless years of research. In all those years, not once had he fathomed putting himself in the shoes of the people he studied. Never had he stopped to consider what it must have been like to live in this time-truly live in this time—without electricity, soft mattresses, and all the other modern conveniences he’d taken for granted. His thoughts had always been on the lost treasures and of being reunited with his father. Nothing else had mattered.

“Every hero I ever heard of carries a sword,” Garrett said, jerking Joe back to the bowels of reality.

“Never said I was a hero, kid.”

The boy crossed his arms. “There must be something you can do.”

Joe set about repacking the saddlebag. When he finished, he was disgruntled to see Garrett still standing there, straight and stiff, hands on hips, waiting for a reply.

“Okay, kid, want to see some magic?” Joe pulled a coin from the leather bag at his side and placed it flat on the center of his palm.

Garrett looked bored.

Joe waved his other hand in the air, swirling slowly at first, then swiftly over his palm, making the coin disappear.

Garrett frowned. “’Tis all you can do? Can you make me disappear?”

“Not that lucky kid.”

Garrett snorted. “What kind of warrior carries no weapons, can hardly climb from a tree, and considers himself magical because of one disappearing coin?”

“A simple man from another world who never asked for any of this, that’s who.”

“Alexandra said you plan to leave us upon your return from Radmore’s Keep.”

“That’s right.”

The boy kicked at a pebble with the tip of his worn boot. “Destiny brought you here and destiny is going to make you stay.”

“You’re wrong there, little buddy, because I have the stone. And that means I’m calling the shots.”

“Who gave it to you? Where is it?”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Joe said with a wry grin. “I don’t trust you any further than I could throw you.”

“You dare throw me and I-I will make your life miserable.”

“Now that, I believe.” Joe turned toward the horse, untied the reins, holding the leather straps a foot from the animal’s mouth so the beast would not be able to bite him. “Listen kid,” Joe said over his shoulder while at the same time trying to figure out how he was going to get on the animal. “Destiny or not, in twenty-nine days I’m out of here. Now be a nice kid and give me a lift.”

Garrett grunted his refusal to help.

Joe looked to Susan for help, but she grabbed her little sister’s hand and quickly scampered off. Alexandra was busy talking to Lydia. After two failed attempts to mount the beast, and a couple of nips on his arm, Joe led Precious to an old decaying tree trunk. He stepped onto the log, and then helplessly sank lower and lower into the rotted wood.

A chorus of laughter rang out around him.

Ari waved the children to silence as he came to Joe’s aid. He weaved his fingers together to make a stirrup for Joe to step into and lift himself onto the saddle.

Moments later, he and Alexandra made their way past the villagers. They had all stopped what they were doing so they could wave goodbye and cheer them on. “Good luck,” the villagers shouted, reminding Joe that they were going to need it.

Just before rounding the first curve in the unpaved road, Joe looked over his shoulder, relieved to see that Alexandra’s siblings had all disappeared. Just like magic, he thought with a smile.

T
hey had been riding for most of the day. The sky was turning a dusty pink, and Joe found himself growing restless. If, at this very moment, he returned to his own time, nobody would believe his story of being in another time. Hell, he still didn’t believe it himself. And thinking about why or how he came to be here was making his head throb. Hoping to take his mind off of his mind-boggling situation, he decided to catch up to Alexandra and have a chat. He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks. But Precious only put her ears back and continued on at the same slow pace. Deciding he would show Precious who was boss, Joe snapped a twig from a tree and swat at the horse’s rump. Precious took off, her front legs coming off the ground before galloping ahead of Alexandra.

“Whoa, P-Precious, whoa.” Joe pulled back on the reins. By the time the animal stopped, he was dangling from the horse’s neck.

Alexandra laughed.

“Ah,” he said after he’d righted himself, and she caught up to him. “I should have known all I had to do was make a fool out of myself to get you to smile.”

“And what I wonder would make you smile in return, Sir Joe?”

The instant their eyes met, he felt another jolt of awareness pass between them. In a few short seconds, he conjured up all sorts of things that would make him smile. Then he shook his head at his wayward thoughts. Here he was, off to do battle with an evil lord, and suddenly he was thinking about taking a nice hot shower...with Alexandra. Ever since discovering she hadn’t escaped from a mental ward, he’d found himself looking at her in a whole new light.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No,” he said, an uncomfortable tightness settling within. “I was thinking about what would make me smile, and the answer is food.” That wasn’t exactly the truth, but neither was it a lie. “A steaming plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes would definitely put a smile on my face. I’m starved.”