There is no coming back from this, she realized. There was no returning to obscurity, no more hiding within the shadows whenever he entered the tavern. She'd just launched herself straight into the line of fire. "Go on now Hannah, get this poor boy some food."
She glanced at the boy before turning and hurrying into the crowd. Instead of having to shove her way through it, they all stepped aside to let her pass now. She was acutely aware of their stares following her to the tavern. Uncle Abe was waiting for her by the door as she practically tripped up the steps in her rush to get out of sight, if only for a minute.
The familiar scents of wood burning in the fireplace, pipe smoke, ale, and meat cooking in the kitchen washed over her. Some may have found the mix of these scents unpleasant, but to her they were the comforting scents of home. "What happened?" Uncle Abe demanded.
Hannah shook her head; she could barely meet his soulful brown eyes as she hurried through the tavern. She spotted her friend Ellen on the stage in the corner, Ellen's flute was in hand but her attention was riveted upon Hannah. Her cousin Lucas was in the kitchen serving up bowls of stew when Hannah entered. His hand dropped as he turned his russet brown eyes on her. Luckily he hadn't inherited Uncle Abe's aging defect and had stopped aging when he'd attained maturity three years ago. Uncle Abe had been sixty-two before he had finally stopped aging, her father hadn't stopped until he was fifty-five. At twenty-five Lucas still looked as if he was twenty-two, but though he had been spared his father's defect he was still as defective as she was.
"What did you do Hannah?" he demanded.
She shook her head at him. They'd been inseparable since children, but right now she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. It wasn't only her that Calvin might come after in order to get his way. "I did what I had to do Lucas."
She grabbed one of the bowls of stew and a loaf of bread. Steam drifted up from the bowl, but she was used to carrying them, and barely felt the heat of it against her hand. Lucas seized hold of her arm before she could turn away. A strand of brown hair fell into one of his eyes as he leaned toward her. The bridge of his nose was thin and well defined; his full lips were compressed into a thin line. Though his broad shoulders blocked out the rest of the kitchen, he was slender due to the fact that he never stood still. Even now, one of his feet was tapping against the wooden floor. The only time he ever stopped moving was when he was sleeping and she suspected that even then he never stayed still for more than a minute at a time.
There were few times in her life that she could recall him actually looking displeased with her. This was one of those times as he glared at her. "Calvin is not someone to mess with Hannah. You can't handle a man like him. He's not one of us, what he can do to us..."
"I know what he can do to us Lucas. I also know that boy probably wouldn't have survived two nights in the stocks."
He shook his head as he released her arm. "Maybe not, but you're not prepared for what Calvin is looking for from you either, and there's nowhere for us to run, not us."
She was struggling to find words as he handed her a spoon. "I know that."
The annoyance faded from his face as he leaned away from her. "If Calvin becomes too overbearing with you we'll figure something out."
"I don't want you to get involved Lucas."
He glanced at her as he stirred the massive pot of stew before him and tapped his fingers on the counter. "I didn't want you getting involved either, but it's too late for that now." He placed his hand on her back and nudged her toward the door. "Take that boy some stew."
Hannah nodded numbly; she left the tavern again and returned to the stage. Most of the crowd had dispersed but Calvin was still holding the boy by the back of his neck as he spoke with Kane. Calvin's eyes followed her as she stepped onto the stage and walked over to them. "Don't touch her," he ordered the boy gruffly.
Hannah glanced at Calvin as she handed the bowl and bread to the child. He showed no concern for the roof of his mouth, or his tongue, as he dropped the spoon and drank the stew directly from the bowl.
"Easy, you'll make yourself sick." He glanced at her over the top of the bowl and reluctantly pulled it away from his mouth. "What's your name?"
"Heath," he answered around a mouthful of bread.
"Did you see where I just came from Heath?" He nodded as he crammed another bite of bread into his mouth. "Tomorrow, when you get out of the stocks, go to that building. If you're willing to work we'll give you some food and a place to stay."
"Oh yes ma'am, I'll work very hard for you ma'am," he said eagerly.
Hannah smiled at him and squeezed his upper arm. Sadness crept through her as her hand completely enveloped his bicep. She'd seen stray dogs with more meat on their bones than this boy. The boy stopped chewing, his mouth parted on a breath as his gaze fell to her hand. She quickly removed her hand when Calvin approached them.
"Tomorrow then," she said.
"Time is up." Calvin jerked the boy back by his shirt. Hannah snagged the bowl out of the air as Heath's startled fingers released it. "You're lucky that didn't break," Calvin barked at the boy before focusing on her. A smug smile spread over his face. "I look forward to tomorrow Hannah."
She dreaded it more than she would dread going without blood for a week, but she still forced a smile to her face that felt false even to her. "Tomorrow," she said and retreated to the safety of the tavern.
CHAPTER 2
Jack stomped his feet on the wooden porch before opening the screen door and then the heavy wooden door. He was really hoping this tavern had rooms for the night, his ass was sore from being in the saddle for hours on end and he could use a good night of sleep. They'd traveled longer than he had planned today, but the few towns in between this mountain area, and the coast they had left, had already had his brother's men in them and were well under control.