Page 123 of Tiger's Curse
“Alright.” His eyes twinkled. “I wish for a bowl of my mother’s stew.”
The fruit twinkled, and a white bowl appeared in front of us. The tangy aroma of an herbed lamb stew filled the room.
“What is this?”
“Go on, Mr. Kadam, wish for something else. Food, I mean.”
“I wish for a mango yogurt.”
The fruit sparkled again, and a small dish of mango yogurt appeared.
“Don’t you see? It’s the fruit! ItfeedsIndia. Get it?”
He picked up the fruit carefully. “What an amazing discovery! Have you shared this with Ren?”
I blushed guiltily. “No, not yet. But you go ahead.”
He nodded, stunned, and turned the fruit in his hands, looking at it from all angles.
“Umm . . . Mr. Kadam? There’s something else I wanted to talk with you about.”
He set the fruit down carefully and gave me his full attention. “Of course, Miss Kelsey. What is it?”
I let out a deep breath. “I think it’s time . . . for me to go home.”
He sat back in his chair, steepled his fingers, and looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. “Why do you believe so?”
“Well, like you said, there’s the Lokesh thing, and there are also other . . . things.”
“Other things?”
“Yes.”
“Such as?”
“Such as . . . well, I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality forever.”
He scoffed, “Nonsense. You are a member of the family. We owe you an eternal debt, one that can never be repaid. This house is as much yours as it is ours.”
I smiled at him gratefully. “Thank you. It’s not only that, though, it’s also . . . Ren.”
“Ren? Can you tell me about it?”
I sat on the edge of the couch and opened my mouth to say that I didn’t want to talk about it, but the whole thing came spilling out. Before I knew it, I was crying, and he was sitting next to me patting my hand and comforting me as if he were my grandfather.
He didn’t say a word. He just let me spill out all of the hurt, confusion, and tender new feelings. When I was done, he patted my back while I hiccupped with tears dropping onto my cheeks. He handed me an expensive cloth handkerchief, smiled, and wished for a cup of chamomile tea to give me.
I laughed wetly at his delighted expression as he handed me the tea; then, I blew my nose and calmed down. I was horrified that I had confessed everything to him.What must he think of me?Then another thought pierced my despair:Will he tell Ren?
As if reading my thoughts, he said, “Miss Kelsey, don’t you feel bad about what you have told me.”
I begged, “Please,pleasedon’t tell Ren.”
“Rest assured, I will never break your confidence.” He chuckled. “I am very good at keeping secrets, my dear. Don’t despair. Life often seems hopeless and too complicated to hammer out a happy result. I only hope I can offer you some of the peace and harmony that you have given to me.”
He sat back and thoughtfully stroked his short beard. “Perhaps itistime for you to go back to Oregon. You are right that Ren needs time to learn how to be a man again, although not quite in the way you believe. Plus, I have a lot more research to do before we set off looking for Durga’s second gift.”
He paused for a moment. “Of course I will arrange for you to go back. Never forget, though, that this home is yours too, and you can always call me at a moment’s notice, and I will bring you back. If it’s not too forward of me, I consider you a daughter.” He laughed. “Or perhaps, granddaughter would be more accurate.”
