“Dragons aren’t real.” Wesley’s face, already rosy from the cold, turned a deep shade of red. “They’re just pretend creatures… mythological. Someone made them up and told stories about them.”
“Ah. I certainly wish our wendts were pretend creatures, as well, but Vindrake’s evil is all too real.”
“I know he’s done some bad things.” Alora’s voice was soft as she contemplated her fingers. “But surely he’s
not beyond redemption. When he talked to me, he seemed kind of... sad or hurt. He begged me to give him a chance and let him prove himself.”
Kaevin stiffened and reached out to grab Alora’s arm. “You can’t believe that—he only wants to use you. I’m telling you, the man is truly evil. He kidnapped your mother, Wendelle, and returned her to us dead. He’s killed countless people.”
Alora wrenched her arm out of Kaevin’s grip, kicking Willow into a gallop.
“Come back, Alora!” He turned River, prepared to make chase.
Beth pushed her outspread hand in front of his face. “Wait! Give her a minute, Kaevin. How would you feel if someone told you things like that about your father?”
“But I had to tell her—it’s true. She needs to know the truth about him.” He choked the words out of his suddenly dry mouth as he watched her fleeing form.
“Yes, but it still hurts to hear it. He’s still a part of her.”
“But she’s not like him—she’s like her mother. Wendelle was good and pure and brave. She sacrificed herself to save Alora.”
“That may be true, but Alora never got to meet her. She probably feels like she ought to give her father a chance, no matter what he’s done.”
Kaevin clutched River’s mane with now-sweaty palms. “What can I do? He’ll kill her—I’m certain of it. I have to protect her.”
“She’s got to see it for herself. For now, I’d just change the subject. She needs some processing time. In a week’s time, everything she thought she knew about herself has changed. Add that on top of just being a girl, and you’ve got a recipe for an emotional volcano.”
“This proves what I’ve always believed—horses are a lot easier to understand than girls.”
“You’ve got that one right,” Wesley agreed.
“And this conversation proves what I’ve always believed.” Beth twisted her mouth in a smirk. “Boys don’t know when to keep their mouths shut.”
The girls set up the picnic lunch, while the boys practiced shooting arrows at targets. Alora couldn’t help feeling proud as Kaevin’s arrows flew unerringly toward the bull’s-eye. But she was still stinging from his harsh words about her father.
“You know Kaevin’s just afraid for you, right? He’s afraid your father will kill you if he gets the chance.” Beth’s words were soft and hesitant; her best friend knew her so well. She knew how much Alora had always longed to know her real father. No one had ever spoken of him, and her hinting questions had only drawn vague explanations from her aunt and uncle, who claimed no one really knew anything about him.
“I know. And yesterday when we were hiding from him in the storeroom, I was afraid of him. But I wasn’t afraid for me—I was afraid for Kaevin. I don’t believe he’d actually hurt me, because I’m his daughter. He said he loved me. I think it’s possible I could actually change him if I spent some time with him.”
“You know, my dad was an alcoholic,” Beth’s words came out in a strained toned as she unpacked the sandwiches. “He used to beat my mother and scream at me. And my mother gave him lots of chances. She always believed he was going to change, and I did too. I always thought I could make the difference. I thought if he saw how much I loved him, if I kept my room really clean, if I made good grades in school, if I cooked for him, if I did everything just right... I thought he would be the father I needed him to be. Our lives were a living hell before he ran his truck off the road and ended up killing himself.”
Alora nodded. Although the accident had occurred six years earlier, she remembered it well. And she recalled what Beth’s life had been like prior to his death.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve a chance, but I’m telling you not to risk your life and Kaevin’s life for it. It’s not your responsibility to fix him.”
Alora blinked at her tears as she hugged her friend. “I won’t be foolish. But if I ever get the opportunity to talk to him, I’m going to try. I have to.”
Beth sniffed as she nodded, hugging her hard. “I know you do. You’re kindhearted and forgiving, and I love you for it. But I’m scared for you. I’m not so afraid he’s going to kill you as I am he’s going to hurt you. On the inside, where it counts. And I know from experience how bad that kind of hurt is.”
*****
At two p.m. the four returned to Alora’s ranch house, where Beth hitched a ride home with Wesley, since the roads had been plowed.
“The dance is at eight o’clock, and we’ll leave at seven-thirty,” Beth yelled out the truck window. “And it’s casual. You can wear jeans and boots.”
“We’ll see,” Alora called after the departing truck.
“We don’t have to go if you don’t wish to,” said Kaevin into the awkward silence. Alora had been a bit stiff with him since the conversation about her father. He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and apologize for hurting her.