Page 38 of Forget Me Not

Kes motioned to him with his glasses. “A lady who didn’t trust you would never curl up beside you and sleep so readily as she has. She would never allow herself such vulnerability if some part of her didn’t believe you worthy of at least a portion of her trust.”

“She has done this since she was tiny,” Lucas countered. “I suspect it is nothing more than habit.”

“Habits are broken by fear and pain.” Kes put his spectacles on once more. “That she hasn’t entirely shed this one is reason for optimism, my friend.”

“How is it you know so much about women?” Lucas laughed.

Kes offered a small, tight smile. “We are friends, but that doesn’t mean you know all my secrets.”

Nowthatwas intriguing. “I hope a few of them are shocking.”

He shook his head. “We’re focusing on you at the moment. How do you intend to forge a new friendship with your very wary wife?”

“Bribery?” Lucas suggested.

“That might work with some ladies,” Kes acknowledged.

“But not Julia.” He knew that beyond a doubt. “Her loyalty is earned, not bought.”

“So earn it.”

“I’m not certain how.”

Julia shifted beside him, though she didn’t wake. He slumped lower so her head could rest on his shoulder instead of against his arm. That had to be more comfortable for her.

“What sort of things formed the foundation of your friendship when you were younger?” Kes asked, lowering his voice a little.

“We participated in the neighborhood games of chase and hide-and-seek. We climbed a great many trees. Picnics on the rock by the river, mostly involving food we nipped from the kitchens at our respective houses. A great many jokes involving inappropriate noises.”

The amusement on Kes’s face grew, though it never reached obvious levels. That had always been his way. “An odd approach to friendship now that you are both grown.”

That was certainly true. “I had once imagined enjoying a game of chase with my bride. That was, of course, when I still believed I’d be marrying for love.”

Kes made a sound of pondering. Few people were as naturally academic as he was, forever contemplating and analyzing and thinking. And yet, somehow, he wasn’t stuffy or unapproachable.

Julia coughed, pulling Lucas’s attention entirely to her. Was she growing ill? She didn’t look pale or flushed. Careful not to wake her, he brushed the back of his hand over her cheek, then her forehead. She didn’t feel feverish. Perhaps it was only a bit of dust.

“Have you thought to revisit your childhood adventures with more mature versions?” Kes said. “There would be the benefit of familiarity while also allowing for the laying of new groundwork to match your new circumstances.”

Lucas ran his fingers along Julia’s braid. How well he remembered the braids she’d once worn. Two of them, one on either side, and far redder then than they were now. The sight of those ginger plaits flying behind her as she ran to welcome him home at the end of each school term remained one of his favorite memories. She’d been so little, so much younger than he, yet she’d had such a profound impact on him. He couldn’t simply resign them to a life of discomfort and unhappiness. It wasn’t fair to either of them. “What is the grown-up equivalent of climbing trees?”

Kes arched an eyebrow. “Based on a significant number of days I spent with you in Europe, I would say climbing mountains.”

Climbing mountains.Excitement built inside on the instant. He did enjoy the exhilaration of mountaineering. But Julia, he would wager, had no experience with it.

“I don’t know that mountaineering is the answer.” He could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Why not?” Kes pressed. “You don’t have to conquer the Alps. Undertake a meandering walk to one of the neighboring summits.” He hooked a thumb in the direction of the window. “And while you’re winding your way to the top, tell her about some of the mountains you’ve climbed. Share that enthusiasm with her. Remind her of the trees and such you used to climb as children.”

It wasn’t a terrible idea.

“Have a picnic,” Kes said, “like you used to. Challenge her to a game of hide-and-seek.”

“We have been playing one for days now. Except no one has been seeking.”

Still, he was pondering Kes’s suggestions. Even childhood games could be enjoyable if undertaken in the right spirit. Being silly for a day might actually be an excellent way of easing the strain between them. It wouldn’t fix everything, but at least they would have a temporary break from the difficulties they lived with now.

“You said things are amok between you,” Kes said. “Reclaim what you had when it wasn’t all a mess. Find a way to be friends again. It’s better than nothing.”

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