Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Carter's Steakhouse was an upscale eatery, innocuously rustic on the outside, while quietly luxurious on the inside. It was one of the better restaurants in town, in terms of fine dining. The inside decor was a quiet melody of browns and golds, with supple leather seats, and quiet wallpaper pattern that whispered of old money. It had a sports bar attached to it, called the Dragon, and businessmen came here to watch the games and drink scotch. While there were several country clubs in Starlight Hollow, the Dragon served a similar function for those who chose not to belong to one of the elite clubs.

The hostess, who was dressed in a white ruffled shirt and black pants, checked off our reservation and picked up the menus. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to your booth."

She led us through a labyrinth of tables, toward the back where there were four booths. I slid into one side, while Bran slid into the opposite seat. The hostess handed us our menus, then motioned to the waitress to fill our water goblets.

"Our specials tonight are steak soup, the filet mignon and lobster tail surf and turf, and our pumpkin risotto with lamb croquettes. If I may take your drink orders, I'll have someone bring them right out."

"I'll have a spiced cider, nonalcoholic." I glanced over at Bran.

"Bourbon, neat."

"And would you like any appetizers?" She stood ready with her pen.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I'll have to look over the menu."

She nodded, smiled, and walked away.

As soon as she was gone, I let out a slow breath and leaned against the back of the booth. "This is nice," I said. "It's quiet, and as fancy as the restaurant is, it still gives off this cozy vibe."

Bran nodded, resting his elbows on the table. "I suppose you wonder why I asked you out tonight?"

I shrugged, opening my menu. "We go out every few nights, so on one hand—no. But I am wondering about the request for me to dress up, and coming here to Carter's. It's not cheap. I know that neither you nor I are desperately poor, but we don't often come to places like this."

"I talked to Kyle today," Bran said.

That got my attention. I jerked my head up to stare at him. "What about?"

"About Faron. About his memory loss. I know you think it may not be my place to do so, but as the other interested party in this three-way relationship, I felt like I needed to know what was going on."

My first reaction was to bristle, but I calmed down. Bran was right. Another thought occurred to me: was Kyle telling me everything? Would he tell Bran things that he wasn't telling me?

"What did he say?" I paused as the waitress brought our drinks, setting them on cocktail napkins in front of us.

"Have you had a chance to look over the menu yet?" she asked.

"I'm ready, if you are," I said, nodding to Bran.

"Yes, I know what I want." He stared directly at me, making me blush.

The waitress turned to me. "So, what can I get you?"

"For an appetizer, I'd like the mozzarella sticks. And for my main course, I want the breaded pork chops with macaroni and cheese."

"Would you prefer mixed vegetables, green beans, or corn with that?" she asked.

"Mixed vegetables, please." I motioned to Bran. "What are you having?"

"I'll try the pumpkin risotto with lamb croquettes. And for an appetizer, I'd like the stuffed mushrooms."

We handed her our menus and she left for the kitchen.

Once she was gone, I returned my attention to Bran. "So, what did Kyle have to say?"

"I asked him directly about Faron. About his chances of healing up completely."

"And what did he say?" I was on the edge of my seat, wondering whether Kyle had told me the truth. I didn't like doubting people, especially people that I had grown close to, but there was a part of me that couldn't help but be suspicious. For one thing, I wasn't part of the shifter community, and Faron was the King of the Olympic Wolf Pack. If and when he married, choosing a non-shifter mate would be controversial.

"He told me what I gather he told you. They don't know—they don't know whether Faron will remember everything he's forgotten. The doctors say that over the next two months, Faron should remember everything he's going to."

I sighed. Kyle hadn't lied to me. "Thank you. Thank you for verifying what I was told." I took a sip of my spiced cider. The flavors of cinnamon and apple and cloves and raspberries filled my mouth, soothing my throat.

"I was going to do this later, but I want to now," Bran said. "Elphyra, I want to marry you. And before you answer, let me offer you a proposal of a slightly different nature. You say yes to me now, and you wear my ring except if you are around Faron. If he remembers what you two had, then we deal with the complications. But if within two months—let's say February 1 for good measure—he hasn't remembered, then we get married." He held out a ring box, black velvet, and opened it. Inside was a beautiful canary diamond, cut in a brilliant shape and set in platinum.

I gasped. "This is absolutely beautiful." I looked up at him, thinking about the proposal. It made sense, but I also didn't want him to feel like he was compromising. "Are you sure that you would be happy under those circumstances?"

His eyes flashing, he gave me a single nod. "I told you that I could share you with Faron. I stand by that. I know you love me, and you know I love you. I also know how you feel about Faron, and I realize that in matters of the heart, logic doesn't always make sense."

"Logic seldom plays into love," I said.

"Love can be infinite. I don't think I could handle you having three husbands or paramours on the side. But if Faron remembers what you had, and he's willing to try a poly relationship, then I will welcome him as your second husband. All I know is that I want to marry you, and if it's a package deal, then I am willing to sign on for it."

I slowly removed the ring from the box and handed it to him, holding out my left hand. He slid it onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly.

"You are a rare and precious man, Bran Anderson. I accept your proposal with all my heart. If Faron doesn't remember who I am, or rather what we had together, I won't attempt to force the matter. And if he's not content with a polyamorous relationship, then I'll let him go. I'll marry you either way. Bran, you'll never be second in my eyes. You're right, love can be infinite. And I have enough for both of you. So yes, I will marry you."

Bran's eyes misted over, and he slid out of the booth, crossing to my side to kiss me. "I will always make sure that your happiness comes first."

I gazed up into his eyes, raising my hand to stroke his cheek. "I want an equal partnership. Your happiness matters as much as mine. I won't ever let you regret choosing me."

At that moment, the waitress appeared with our appetizers. Bran hurried back to his side of the booth as she looked at us, quizzically. I held up my hand, grinning from ear to hear as I flashed my ring at her.

"Congratulations! I take it this is a special night?" She set our food in front of us. "Dessert is on the house. So save some room. And if you can't fit it in after your dinner, we'll give it to you to take home. Let me know what you'd like." As she hurried back toward the kitchen, I called out a thank you, hoping she heard me.

"I don't want to overshadow this moment, but I have a request." I toyed with one of the mozzarella sticks, biting into it after I thought it cooled enough.

"What is it?" Bran looked concerned.

"I know that you plan on being with your mother for Thanksgiving. But can you come with us to Port Townsend the day before? You don't have to stay for the holiday, I wouldn't ask you to leave your mother alone. In fact, I'd invite you both to come up and stay for the holiday except my mother's so bossy and demanding that…"

"What's going on? Something is bothering you." Bran offered me one of his stuffed mushrooms.

I shook my head. "Thanks, but I'm not fond of them. As to what's bothering me… Okay, here goes. My aunt found my father's journal and sent it to me. He started writing in it a few months before his death. As I've told you before, there's a lot of speculation that he killed himself. I've read a few entries into his journal, and I'm thinking maybe that's not the case. I'd like to look into whether he was murdered."

"If I can help, you know I'll be there."

I dipped one of my mozzarella sticks into some barbecue sauce. The savory explosion of flavors woke up my mouth. "I'll read more before we go. Maybe something will change, but it looks like he found a secret room, and whatever was in there is tempting him to turn on his friends and…I don't know. Do something to his clients. Maybe scam them? I'm not sure."

"That's odd," Bran said.

"I know. Apparently, he was afraid the fallout would land on me, because he noted that he enchanted all my clothes to protect me. I was five years old at the time, so I don't have many memories. But if he was trying to protect me from somebody, I'd like to know who it was. I believe this may have something to do with the Port Townsend Witches' Guild."

Bran set back in his seat, frowning at his plate. "While there is a national Witches' Guild, most of the regional, city, and state guilds are autonomous and the national division has no power over them. There's no higher-up to go to. I mean, we could go to some of the elders, but they may not have jurisdiction over any one particular guild. Do you think it's dangerous to look into this?"

"That's what Grams is concerned about. Frankly, I don't know. But I want to find out what really happened to my father. It won't change anything, but I just feel like I need to know."

"I understand. I had my father a lot longer than you had yours, so I knew a lot more about him. It's natural to want answers." Bran cleared his throat as the waitress brought our entrées. "Of course I'll go with you. And if you'd like us to help run interference, I'm pretty sure my mother wouldn't mind skipping slaving away in the kitchen for one Thanksgiving. Do you want me to ask her? Or do you need to ask your mother first if she's open to having extra guests?"

"I'm pretty sure that Catharine would jump at the idea. Extra hands means less work that she has to do. Thank you, I appreciate this." I stared at my dish, my mouth watering. My appetite had come back with a vengeance, once Bran said he would go with me. And the ring on my finger made me inexplicably happier than I expected it to. I pushed aside my worries over my father's death and dove into the meal, changing the subject to how Bran's farm was doing, and how the rebuilding of the barn was going.

As soon as I arrived home, I rushed into Grams's room and flashed my finger under her nose. She let out an excited cry, pulling me down on the bed next to her to give me a hug.

"Bran is a wonderful person," I said. "And I made sure that I'm being fair to him. I just want you to know that."

"I can't imagine you doing anything but the right thing. Your mother may not have been the best influence, but you brought yourself up well. Now tell me about the proposal."

Fancypants joined us, sitting on the edge of the bed. Gem and Silver were asleep on the rug near us. I unlaced my boots and set them to the side, then crossed my legs on the bed as I sat facing my great-grandmother. I told her about the conditions of our marriage.

"If Faron doesn't remember in a couple months, then Bran and I will start planning the wedding at that point. If he does remember, we'll go from there. But I promised Bran that I wouldn't choose Faron over him. If Faron can't live with a polyamorous lifestyle, if he can't accept Bran as part of my life, then I will marry Bran and let go of my bond with Faron."

"That sounds fair enough," Grams said.

"Oh, by the way. I invited May and Bran to come with us for Thanksgiving. He's going to help me search for the letter, and for whatever other clues we can find. I want to finish reading the diary before next week, so I know everything I can about what I'm getting myself into."

"I think that's a good idea. I doubt that your father will spell out anything directly in it because it sounds like there was too much for him to lose should anyone find the journal. But…Elphyra…my dear, I don't want you to be too disappointed if we can't locate the letter. Promise me, you won't let this ruin Thanksgiving for you."

I stood and yawned, stretching my arms wide as the weight of the day hit me, and I realized I was falling asleep.

"I promise. I'm going to bed now. I love you." I kissed her on the cheek, then turned and headed toward my bedroom. But my dreams were active, and filled with shadows and cobwebs and hidden secrets that I couldn't catch. It wasn't until about four in the morning that I fell into a deep sleep, and I didn't open my eyes until nine a.m .