Page 29 of Far From Sherwood Forest
I hesitate, letting out a heavy breath before answering. “Take away the one person he cares about here.”
“That John guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Well,” she says, “I don’t know how much I approve of you killing someone who’s innocent in all this.”
“He’s not innocent,” I argue, my voice turning harsh. “He left me on that hilltop too.”
“Okay. Fine.” Her voice has taken on a familiar, placating tone. If she were anyone else, it would piss me off. With Ivy, it actually works on me. It always has. “So what happened to that plan?”
I shake my head and shrug even though she can’t see me. “I don’t know. I was trying to figure out when and how to do it, but…”
Then my fucking dick got hard for Robin Hood, and I’ve kind of had more pressing issues to deal with.
“It doesn’t feel worth it right now,” I finish instead.
It all must be fucking with me more than I thought because I’ve gone from being in one hell of a cranky mood to sulking about it instead.
“Henry?”
“What?”
She must have caught the change in me too because she says, “Don’t you dare give up again.”
My jaw clenches at the reminder.
“I’m not giving up.”
“Good.” She falls silent for a moment, then asks, “Would you go back? If you could?”
I have no idea where that question came from, so it catches me off guard. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it. I have, but I never dwell on it for long. What would be the point when I have no clue how to get back or if it’s even possible? Would I be any happier being back there than I would be here?
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “There’s not anything for me here, but I don’t exactly have anything for me back there either.”
“Hey, I resent that.”
I roll my eyes, but I know she deserves more credit. Not everyone has the ability to pull someone out of places as dark as the one I had gone to.
“No, you’re right,” I tell her, lacing my tone with a hint of sarcasm. “I suppose I have my revenge keeping me here. But even that has gotten all muddled up.”
“Alright, smartass.” Her voice loses its gentle edge and returns to its cheerful self. “Then what you need to do is reevaluate. You need to clear your head.”
She says it almost like she knowswhyI need to clear my head, but of course I’m not going to mention that because then she’ll know there’s a reason that I’m not telling her. And I’mnottelling her.
“You have the perfect job for it too. Go outside. Get some fresh air. You’ll be amazed what a little time in nature can do for you.”
“Says the computer geek,” I mutter.
“Who also happens to own a cabin out in the middle of nowhere.”
I scoff. “Fair point. But I think I get plenty of nature as it is, Ivy.”
“I’m sure you do. But, this time, maybe listen to it instead of scowling at it.”
I let out a breath through my nose that’salmosta laugh. “I’ll try.”
Hanging up, I pick up my cup and take a drink, getting a little grouchy all over again when I get a mouthful of lukewarm coffee.
