“I’m so sorry,” I say and he waves off my apology, continuing.
“He wasn’t supposed to remarry. The elders wouldn’t bless a second marriage. They’re all gone now with no one left to replace them, because my father made sure of that. Back then, everyone took their word as law. They said my mother was the only one meant for him, and that if he remarried it would be an atrocity and place shame on our family.”
Alec gives me a sad smile as he continues. “He demanded the ritual regardless. It involves a tincture for those who haven’t found their partner. The tales say that once you’ve had a taste of it, within a day’s end you’ll have found the one you’re meant to be with.”
“A tincture?” I ask, cocking a brow and shifting my legs to get more comfortable. The tea cup rattles in my lap as Alec nods his head and continues. It’s almost a fairytale-like story. Or maybe something darker, but this is what I want to hear. Even if the article ends up being paragraphs about business, shipping docks and sustainability, I’d rather spend hours listening to tales like this.
“My father said the elders lied, and that he’d found his new wife the very next day after drinking the concoction. When she died only a few months into their marriage, it hit my father hard.”
“How old were you?” I ask him cautiously.
“I was only seven. Elliot was six, and my brother Marcus was twelve.”
“And then the three of you took over the company years later. Because he’d passed away?”
Alec nods. “For ten years, things took a turn for the worse, for both our family and the island, but we recovered. A decade and a half later, and all has been salvaged.”
“Do you believe your father?” I ask him.
He grins at me, a devilish look that makes me question my naivety. “My brothers and I didn’t get this company back on top with tradition and folklore.”
My eyes fall and I feel foolish until he adds, “Three months ago, I went with my brother Marcus, and we bought the mix from the old women on the far side of the mountain. They live by the land there and still carry on the old traditions.”
“Why did you go there?”
Alec taps his fingers against his knee as he answers, “Marcus is older than me, and all three of us have lived relatively solitary lives.” His gaze wavers for a moment, a sadness coating his voice as he adds, “Marcus wanted a wife. He wanted someone to love. So we went there for the tincture, the very same one my father claimed worked for him.”
“You drank the tincture?” I ask to clarify.
“I did.” He nods as he answers me.
“And?” I can’t help but ask, “Did you meet your soul mate?” I try to add a note of humor to my voice, realizing how foolish the notion is, but the romantic heart in me is beating slowly, waiting for an answer with bated breath.
“My brother went out searching for his. He’s desperate for someone in his life. I only drank it to prove a point to him.” The coldness in his voice catches me off guard, and something in his tone makes my heart clench with nearly unbearable pain. “I stayed in this room for the next day and a half.” He holds my gaze as he adds, “I didn’t see a soul.”
My blood turns to ice and I look down at my notepad trying to take a few steps back, but I feel lost and emotional. His story made me feel hopeful, alive. Like how I used to get when I was a child reading Disney books.
“All I did was read,” he says in a tone that sounds sympathetic and comforting; like he senses this upsets me and wishes it didn’t.
I clear my throat and stare past him as he says, “The time has gotten away from me.” He stands, and I finally notice the snow hasn’t stopped falling. There’s not a spot remaining which isn't blanketed beneath a thick layer of snow.
“You can stay here tonight,” Alec says with no room for negotiation in his tone. “The mountain isn’t safe for traveling.”Chapter FourLila“I really don’t want to put you out.” I stare out of the window in the kitchen. The ground is still carpeted with several feet of snow, but it’s practically raining now. “I think-”
“Brant’s not going to be able to make it up the mountain safely with the hail,” Alec says confidently, cutting off any excuse that I have. I open my mouth to protest, but he turns to me with his brows raised.
“Don’t worry, Lila,” he says with a small smile. “It happens from time to time here.” His eyes flicker to me and then back to the chicken on the cutting board.