Chapter 54

• He checked her room, the entertainment room, and as a last resort the common house, praying the whole time she wasn’t trying to bake again. When he exhausted all possible rooms, he went to the front of the house to look out the window, thinking maybe she was down at the lake where Shaelan was doing her tests. The younger children would be doing their studies right now and the two boys should be over at the fishery doing chores, so he wasn’t sure where else to look.
• He was just about to turn around and go get his shoes when he saw her coming out of the trees that ran to the side docks around the lake. She was wrapped in a towel. He checked the shore again and saw that Olanna and Nolyn weren’t there now. Relief filled him; he’d been concerned she’d been in the lake when they were. Swimming in a pool with children was nothing like being in the lake with others. Breathing another sigh of relief, he was just about to turn to go back to the kitchen when Lucus and Paxton came out of the trees, towels wrapped around them. They were laughing and called out something to Terah. She stopped and smiled at them, pointing to the lake, Pax shook his head at whatever she’d said.
• She’d been in the lake with two males. His mind started flying with all the ways that could have gone very wrong. He squeezed them shut, he knew she’d understood when he’d explained it. His gaze narrowed in on the boys wondering if Paxton had coerced her into going for a swim with them. Grinding his teeth, he spun on his heel and went back to the kitchen. Putting the kettle on to boil, he stood there leaning on the island tapping his hands on it. Paxton wasn’t that naïve, to ignore the warning that he knew Malachi had given all of them.