Yield (20 page)

Emma’s eyes widened at the title reference, not the magic herbs.

I didn
’t like who it came from, but I sure liked the idea of what it meant.   Never once in my life had it ever crossed my mind to plan out a way to ask a girl to marry me and be mine.  The one and only woman ever.  I’d spent years annoyed with human girls, my own realm, and not one of them was worth my time other than a day or two.  Not one of them held the depth Emma had in strength and personality.  And not to mention the purity.  I’d have never thought it to be so appealing, but to know she is mine and no other man’s was just about the icing on the cake.  I had to make this happen.

I was swimming with the different ways I could surprise her with popping the question.

“Hold off till we know you’re in the free and clear, cowboy.”

Verdangit.  I hated magic if that was involved.  I wouldn
’t want anyone to read my mind, much less Emma’s.  I didn’t want to subject her to knowing just want a mess I was on the inside.  She may have me all figured out in her eyes, but there was a part of me that would always see danger where she was involved and pull out only the darkest, blackest parts of myself to solve the problem.  She definitely didn’t need to see it.

“Agreed.”

Growl!  I hate that telepathy junk.

The old lady started rambling on about magic and witch stuff.  I half listened as I focused on Emma
’s face and the way she was tapping hands to some song’s beat on the shelf. 

Itching to know, I asked her to get away from the Granny Wolf. 

“What song are you tapping?”

Her smile was contagious, “When did you figure that out exactly?”

Averted from the coming doom, I smiled back at her and inched closer.  “The other night when you tapped out my favorite song. But I confirmed it first when you tap on occasion in the car to the radio.”

Her head cocked to the side.  “I didn
’t know you like music that much.”

“There
’s a lot you still don’t know.  Like how much I like the smell of your hair right after you wash it in the morning.”  I pressed my face to her head and let my senses take over.

Emma
’s sassy look of fire crossed over her face and then faded, “Don’t do all this.  Let’s finish this first.  Afterward, you can list out every attribute in specific detail after—

“Our wedding night."

Of all the lamest, idiotic, stupid things to say. 

Her shock face was unreadable.  Was she disgusted and never wanted to think about marriage or was she afraid I was jumping too fast or—I was a jerk.

Her mouth hanging open, I clearly had rendered her speechless.

“I
’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that.”

Her mouth attacked mine and what I thought might be a mind blowing kiss ended as quickly as it started. 

“Don’t be.  But I will hold you to your word, Ames.   Don’t doubt that.”

She wasn
’t upset, she was
happy
about it.

“Eh, um.”  Granny Wolf cleared her throat.  I wanted to tell her to crawl back to her cave and let us have out last moments before she took what made us who we are.

“I will gladly give you space after we have performed the ceremony.  Destinies aside, I want nothing more than to see the two of you where you need to be.”

I made the mistake of looking at her.  Her face wasn
’t malevolent or laced with bitterness like my own, but rather honest pain. 

“Why are you doing this?” I asked her.

“I told you.  I want you both happy.  When Emma can sit upon the Goblin king’s seat and rule, it will have you free to move on.”

I wasn
’t sure I like how that was worded.  “What do you mean?”  I asked slowly then disregarded it.  I couldn’t always see good in people.  She
seemed
like she was helping us.

A heavy sigh later she said, “Just accept that this is what needs to be done and get on with it.  You can
’t both have that much magic and I haven’t enough gruroot for remixing but one more dose.  We have to get this taken care of within the hour of the mix dulls.”

“
Then let’s get started.”   I stepped away from Emma and put both hands in my pockets to keep my hands to myself.

Turns out there has been a bit of herb magic in many societies for thousands of years including goblins, witches, and even the elves who stay very hidden in unpopulated forests of the world.  As Grandma Clark mixed and measured for the next half hour, Emma and I listened to a long history of our own kind.

Witches have been around for thousands of years.  The Salem witches were true to their kind and went down proudly for the sake of the others who remained hidden during the dark times.  Many warlocks, like myself, were leaders of the different covens and even led a few silent revolutions against the humans in time of dire need.  Like the Salem witch trials.

Every witch or warlock had their own unique chosen ability that helped them in some way once they harnessed its use.  Our goblin kin were the same.  For years, my people just assumed I was different because my father was the true king.  No one else existed in our part of the continent and no other goblin king had come to visit. Well, that kind of thing just never happened.  We, or they, stay on their own turf like it
’s always been.

I was heavy into listening to her story when suddenly she said, “You
’re mother was a phenomenal woman.”

I searched her face for lies. 

“I’m not lying.  She would help a poor soul in need before she fed herself sometimes.  All her life she was treated like a leper in school for her inability to control her emotions and not affect others, but it earned her a “weirdness factor” as she called it.  Always claimed she belonged in another world.  I guess that’s what it was like when she met your father.  Going to his world where many held a form of magic was like going home in her eyes.  It just wasn’t here.”

Her eyes closed.  She was crying.

“I’m sorry for the life you’ve had to lead without knowing how wonderful your mother was.  I didn’t know your father, but she thought he hung the moon.  To love her, he must have been pretty great.”

I snapped.  “Why would it have been so hard to love her?”

Her tear-filled eyes looked up.  “I meant that she had such a hard view of the world and what others thought of her.   If your father showed her how amazing she was and made her feel that, he must have been wonderful himself.  She was never happier but when she was with him.”

Ahhh.  And not here with her.  I get it now.

“Maybe she was never meant to stay in the human world.  Have you thought of that?”

Emma moved over to me, placing an arm around my waist.  I know she was trying to calm me down.

“Yes,” Grandma Clark said.

“Then stop moping and smile on her memory.  She doesn
’t need a pity party.”

The lady
’s face softened into something sad and yet a smile spread across her face.  “You are one amazing gift from her.  I am truly glad I was able to gain you back.”

With that, my heart pounded and ye
t another female made me second-guess my hardened hold on the past.  Never stopping to think I offered something more in this life.  I suddenly blurted out, “I have a picture...er, painting of them.  You can have it if you want.”

I don’
t know where that came from.  She wasn’t always nice, but she wasn’t happy about losing my mother either.

Leaning her shoulders back she smiled like I haven
’t seen her do since we arrived. “I would like that very much.”

Emma spoke quietly, “Have you seen her since...”  She trailed off feeling embarrassed.  I could feel her getting shy on the inside.  Perhaps she felt like she was invading on unknown territory, but I think it constitutes for all in the room.

“No, my dear.  The last time I saw her face was when she packed a bag and went to him.”

Emma looked sad.  “So you didn
’t see her get married or have…a son.”

Grandma Clark just shook her head.  Emma looked at me.

Not knowing what else to do, my threshold of seeing Emma in pain broke.  “Well, no worries.  You will be at ours.”

One of the greatest looks any man can every carry around with him is when the girl he can
’t live without gives you a look of surprise and pure emotion that he is without a doubt the one man that she herself can’t live without, it’s heaven on earth.  Emma’s face wasn’t covered in horror or fear but with a pure pink blush and full of love.  She loves me. 

And I love her.

Ames just mentioned for the second time a reference to marriage.  And in front of his grandmother.  Ames was the generic bad boy who never settled down, never admitted he was weak, never told anyone how he really felt, and never, ever talked with any form of poetic words or romantic goo.

But the Ames I
’ve seen in the last forty-eight hours isn’t the same guy I met in the hall of my high school over a year ago now.  This Ames was a compassionate, caring man who wanted to make others happy and not himself.

He really was a changed man.

“That he is, my dear.  And that is all because of you.”

“Ohh!  Stop that already.  I hate it.”

“Wish I could.”

Me too.

Ames stared at both of us.  I relented my hold on someone else knowing my thoughts.  “I just marveled over in my head how much you’ve change recently and how much I love that you are kinder and care about others.  You aren’t so sad anymore.”

He blinked rapidly.  “You love me weak?”

Oh my.  “No, Ames.  I don’t think you’re weak at all.”  I sighed thinking it would have been nice if his grandmother would have kept her nose in her own business.  Of course, she was smirking at me.  “I meant that you were in pain for years and couldn’t see that others needed you.  Now you seem to just permeate a caring attitude towards helping others and see very little of yourself.”

He still looked upset.  He commented with, “You think I don
’t take care of myself?”

Men are so frustrating in the communication department.  “No. I mean that you always put others first.  Yeah, initially you put up a wall to protect yourself, but when someone else is hurt or in danger, you put yourself last.  I don
’t think that was the case a year or two ago.”

I must have finally reached him, because he reached over and kissed my cheek.  “Thank you, love.”

Whoa!  I know my eyes went wide.  He leaned into me, placing his cheek to mine.

“Yes, I love you Emma.  Always.”

This was that moment.  That one defining moment that I had built up to have bells ringing and angels singing.  A loud clang of thunder to announce it’s coming.  But there wasn’t a single sound anywhere around us.   Just him...and me.

“You said that to me once.”

He lowered his eyebrows.  A tiny muscle tightened near his eye.

“The first time you took me to your cave.”

I felt his grandmother flinch reminding us we forgot yet again we were not alone.  Dang it!

“I remember and it
’s true. I can understand if you still think we are too young,” he sighed.

“I am.  You
’re not in spirit.  And boy, am I ready.”

He grinned wickedly and kissed my cheek again.  “Let
’s get this done.  I’m ready to start living.”

If she went through with this, I would just create an illusion on no pain for her.  It would keep her calmer.  I kept switching sides and back again with, “You can do this.  Look how you
’ve overpowered Joshlin twice.”

She scoffed at me, “With magic.”

“No.  You didn’t.  You never once harmed him that day in my realm.  The blades were aimed and ready.  You chose to be the better person.”

“No.  You talked me down.”

“You saw through my horrid past for what my heart really believes.  Killing is never the answer.”

She laughed.  “
Seems we are both just as demented, aligned on the same path.  It’s not hard to see how we ended up together. But I still—

“No.  You don
’t.  You escaped Joshlin’s clutches with cleverness, not violence.  You don’t need the magic.  I would give it away with a single breath if it means I won’t lose you.”

The only other person in the room gasped.  “That
’s not necessary.”

I glared at her.  Her fear was evident.  She really didn
’t seem to care about Emma giving up her magic and jumped right on that ship, but when I mentioned mine she acted like I had offered my first born.