William smirked as he caught sight of who Jack had spotted. "That's a face I never thought I'd see again."
"Who is that?" Hannah asked, not at all certain the man would be able to stand up straight inside the tavern when he was on his feet.
"Timber, he's an old friend of ours. We haven't seen him in a few years though," Jack answered.
"He likes to wander," William responded with a shrug.
"Well it seems his wandering has finally brought him across our path again." Jack broke away from her and weaved his way through the crowd with William close behind him.
The giant must have sensed their approach as he turned to look at them. A smile split his broad face and he rose to his feet. His head just barely missed hitting the beams running across the ceiling. Jack was stretching his hand out to greet him when Timber, a name she found incredibly fitting, pulled his arm back and drove his fist straight into Jack's face.
It took everything she had not to fly across the room and attack the monster of a man as rage burst to blazing life within her. The tavern went deathly still as they waited to see what would happen.
CHAPTER 14
"That's for lying to me, vamp," Timber said with a grin.
Jack wasn't nearly as amused as he rubbed at his offended jaw and tried not to reveal how much the human's punch had actually stung. William began to chuckle as he stepped forward and thrust his hand out to Timber. "Nice one," he congratulated as his hand was swallowed within Timber's.
Timber turned to Jack and thrust out his hand. "No hard feelings."
Jack gave his jaw one last rub, his pride felt almost as bruised as his chin but he supposed he'd deserved it. He had lied to the man after all. Jack took hold of Timber's extended hand and shook it. The occupants of the tavern, realizing that there wasn't going to be another brawl, went back to what they had been doing. "No hard feelings."
"Good, let me buy you a drink while we catch up."
There wasn't much time to catch up but it would be good to have Timber on their side if he chose to stick around this town. Jack turned to find Hannah standing a few feet behind him glowering at Timber. He had to bite back a smile at her fierce expression as her eyes slid to him. "Are you ok?" she demanded.
"Perfectly fine," he assured her. She didn't seem at all appeased though as she continued to stare at Timber like he was something she was contemplating eating. "Would you care to join us for a drink?"
"Are you kidding me?" she retorted.
He couldn't help but grin at her. "No."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I will never understand men."
"Believe me miss, we don't get you womenfolk either," Timber informed her as he rubbed at the scruffy beard covering his jaw. His nose had been broken again since Jack had last seen him and the bridge of it had a bump in it. His brown hair was longer as it tumbled around his broad shoulders, but he looked much like Jack remembered from a few years ago. Timber had vanished a year before the war had started, having moved onto some new town and some new adventure. He'd always gone out and disappeared for a few months at a time, but he'd turn back up again eventually. When he hadn't popped up again Jack had assumed the man was dead.
"Are you going to join us?" Jack asked her again.
"No, I'm going to help in the kitchen," she answered.
Before he could say any more, she hurried past him and into the kitchen. Jack pulled out a chair and slid into it, he had to fight the urge to rub his still throbbing jaw as Timber grinned at him in a highly annoying way. "Where have you been?" William asked as he dropped into the chair beside Jack and gestured for the young waitress.
"Around," Timber replied. "I had planned on returning to you guys after a few months but unfortunately some of my not so legal activities landed me in a cell in a town about a hundred miles from where I last saw you. The only reason I was set free was because of the war and the overturn of the vampires that had been holding me. Imagine my disbelief when I reemerged to a whole new world, and was informed about a certain vampire prince that I'd once shared many drinks with."
Jack was well aware of Timber's deft stealing abilities. For a man his size, he had amazingly fast fingers and a love of picking pockets and purses. He also had a love of fighting. Either one of those loves would have landed him in someone's dungeon.
"You weren't the only one that was surprised," William assured him as he took a sip of his drink.
"I'm sorry about your father by the way. He was a good man," Timber said to William.
Some of the color faded from William's face but he lifted his glass and tapped it against Timber's. Jack was reminded of the fact that the one year anniversary of David's death was tomorrow, something neither he nor William had acknowledged yet. "He was," William agreed
"Good job by the way," Timber said to Jack. "Glad that old prick was finally taken care of, even if he was your father."
Jack pushed the glass in front of him aside. "I was glad too. We may actually need your help here, if you'd be willing to give us a hand."
"Do I get to fight?"
"More than likely," Jack assured him.
Timber released a hearty laugh as he cracked his knuckles. "Then count me in."
***
Jack closed the door as William, Timber, and Marvin disappeared into the woods behind the tavern. They had decided it would be best to leave town as undetected as possible. Jack didn't know what Calvin might do if he thought they were plotting against him. He threw the lock on the kitchen door and stood there for a minute with his hand resting on the doorknob.