CHAPTER FIVE-TWENTY QUESTIONS

Scanning the crowded diner for Mory, Haldir took off his hat and gloves. Catching his eye as he sat at a small table with his wife and son, Bose nodded towards the bar. “If you’re looking for Mory, I think I saw her at the last booth.”

Haldir looked back over his shoulder towards the booths then glanced back to Bose “Thanks.”

As the skinny waitress with a pixie haircut walked by, Haldir grabbed her arm. “Can you bring my food to the last booth?”

The booths were made of hand carved wood with high seat backs to match the bar. The nearly swallowed a big man like Haldir and could seat at least six people. He could’ve looked around the room all day and never saw a petite person like Mory sitting way in the back.

Haldir slid across the smooth green leather seat across from Mory. Her wavy hair was pushed back over her shoulders, but the sweet smell of it was thick in the air making Haldir suddenly crave a stack of pancakes. “Why are you sitting over here all by yourself? You hiding from me Morana?”

Closing her eyes as the scent of Irish Spring filled her nose, a surge of warmth entered her chest.

Mory felt so dead inside for so long that the sensations of attraction made her feel uncomfortable, as if her heart might explode in her chest at any moment. Her body begged her to run away to the quiet safety of her room, but something in her mind craved Haldir’s company.

That childlike part of Mory that still believed in miracles hoped that he might have one to spare for her. Finally looking up from her book, her eyes noticed something different. “You trimmed your beard.”

Haldir smirked and scratched his cheek. Truthfully, he spent at least an hour studying his face in front of the mirror before getting ready to see her again. “A little. I asked you a question though.”

As Mory continued to feign reading the book to avoid looking directly into his eyes, she shook her head. “No, of course not. I was waiting for you in the diner, but I had a little altercation with one of those miners. We both went to separate corners when we were finished loudly airing our grievances.”

After taking off his coat, Haldir placed it on the seat beside him then shook out his hair. “Which one was it?”

Shrugging her shoulders as she turned the page, Mory trilled her lips .“I don’t know. Guy with a big ass beard and a funny accent.”

Haldir chuckled out through his nose then waved to the barkeep for a drink. “Shit. That’s every man on this island. You want me to go kick his ass for you?”

Mory grinned as she looked up from the book then shook her head. “No, that’s alright. Maybe next time.”

As the waitress put Haldir’s food in front of him, he looked up to her and smiled. “Thank you.”

The aroma of potatoes and bacon clenched his gut as it stirred up memories of dinners with his children and friends. He’d been eating Ingrid’s horrid microwaved food for years and missed the solemn pride in having a woman prepare a genuine home cooked meal made from scratch for him. “Smells very good. If you ever decided to give up that nursing career, I’m sure the people here would love for you to take over full time.”

Mory closed her book then smiled at him. “It is good. The sweet old woman who raised me was queen of the damn housewives and she could cook her ass off. It was my favorite thing she ever made.”

After swallowing the first bite, he wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Raised you? What happened to your real folks?”

Mory shook her head as she pushed out her lips. “Who knows? Why don’t you tell me about your family? You said you have a daughter, didn’t you?”

Haldir put down his spoon then clasped his hands in front of him on the table. “That’s kind of a long story.”

Mory looked around the bar and put up her hands. “Is there something better going on? You tell me all about your family and I’ll tell you about mine. Twenty questions style.”

Haldir picked his spoon back up and nodded as he stirred the soup. “In a nutshell, I have twins, Teddy and Tessa. Their real parents were murdered when they were just children.”

Putting her chin against her hand, Mory looked around Haldir’s face as he ate. From the stories she’d heard about him so far, it seemed an odd thing for a man like him. “Where are they now?”

Not wanting to go into all the details, Haldir sighed. “They’re all grown up with families of their own. Your turn.”

Looking out the window, Mory watched another group of men walking towards the bar. A few years ago, she would have been thrilled with the idea of being a single woman in the midst of all those rugged men. But there was little joy or excitement left in Mory. When she looked in Haldir’s eyes the day they met, it was the first time in a very long time that she got the rush of life in her. “I don’t have any family. The people who adopted me found me on the steps of their church when I was a baby. They died when I was still in high school. They were all I had.”

As he glanced up to her briefly, he could see the gloomy aura shining from her. Trying to hide the truth of her miserable existence behind a professional and often bitchy exterior worked on his human counterparts, but the eyes of a supernatural being were sharper. She couldn’t mask the light visible to Haldir. “You were married, though, weren’t you?”

Mory shook her head and clicked her tongue. “Un-un. It’s your turn.”

He nodded as he recalled his early days before Michael showed him the new way. “I was once. A very, very long time ago, before I became this. She left me for someone better.”

Continuing to look out the window, Mory scrunched up her nose. “Ouch! What a bitch!”

Sighing as she turned back to face him, Mory nervously tapped her foot on the floor then she smiled as she saw her little friend Charly from the corner of her eye coloring at the bar as he swung his legs back and forth. “When my parents died, I was homeless, just staying with friends and working where I could. I married the first good looking man that came along that was nice to me. But that, uh, prince turned out to be one of the meanest men alive. It wasn’t too long before he started smacking me around. I couldn’t have any children, but luckily for him, the cocktail waitress at the bar down the street had no problem. So, the day I found out, I filed for divorce and joined the army to get away from him. I never went home ever again.”

Watching her fidget with a cheap piece of bright yellow plastic on her wrist, Haldir inhaled sharply through his nose. “What’s with that little kid bracelet?”

Mory ran her thumb across it one more time then wagged her finger in front of her. “My turn.” As she clasped her hands in front of her to stop her nervous tendencies, Mory asked, “ So what is that you do here? Just sit around and wait for something interesting to happen?”

Tearing off a piece of his bread, Haldir dipped it into his soup. “Yes. That’s exactly what I do. Bracelet?”

Looking over at Charly playing so happily across the room, Mory thought back to the all the children who visited her office in search of hugs, band aids and candy. “One of my students gave it to me.”

Watching Haldir devour his meal like a man who hasn’t eaten for days, Mory smirked to herself. “Are there others like you? Assuming that you’re telling the truth, that is.”

As he quickly swallowed the last bite of food, Haldir cleared his mouth with his tongue. “There are other supernaturals, lots of them, but they aren’t like me. I was born human, they never were. What made you give up a cushy job as a school nurse to come work here?”

As Pete placed another pint in front of her, Mory grinned quickly at him then looked back to Haldir. “Trust me, school nursing isn’t easy at all. This,” Mory waved her hand around, “this is better for someone like me. I don’t really belong around people.”

Pushing the bowl away from him, Haldir grasped his pint then brought the glass to his lips. In his experience, when mates come together, there’s a driving force that manipulates the variables of a person’s life to move them in the other mate’s direction. The Fates are cruel sometimes and they enjoy their little games. Haldir wondered what they did to her to put her in his path. “But why here?”

Blowing out through her mouth, Mory pushed away the truth of it all and decided to give Haldir the edited version that she told James. “I was watching this show late one night on the Northern Lights and Polar Bears and thought it looked interesting.”

After swallowing his beer, Haldir laughed. “You have to be shitting me? You came all the way to Norway because of a television program? Come on, Morana. Don’t give me a load of shit like that.”

Crossing her arms in front of her, she held tight to the story. “I came to see the lights.”

After he set the glass down on the table, Haldir drummed his fingers on it then looked at her. “You need to get out of town for that.”

Looking back to the bar, Mory noticed Charly had disappeared. Her eyes darted around the room quickly as she leaned back to look in the mirror. “Yeah, I know. That’s what James said.”

As he looked around to see what she was doing, Haldir pulled his brows down. “Something wrong?”

Mory shook her head as she looked down to the table. “No, just thought I saw something.”

“I’ll take you out on the glacier to see the lights. We can go tonight.” Haldir picked up his coat then pulled it behind him as he pushed his arm in the sleeve.

As he stood up, Mory looked out the window at the darkening sky. “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”

Haldir shook his head as he motioned for her to get up with his hand. “No. There’s plenty of time. I know a shortcut.”

Following Haldir out of the bar, Mory met the eyes of every patron of the Inn as she passed by. She got the feeling that she would undoubtedly be the talk of that sleepy little town tomorrow.

As Mory looked around the vehicles parked outside while they walked, she noticed they weren’t going to any of them. “Tell me you have a truck or something. You might be superman, but my ass can’t hike all the way up there.”

Haldir chuckled out loud in his raspy way. “No, were not driving there. I just don’t like to show off in front of the locals.”

Mory pulled her hat down over her ears as she followed him around the rear of the building. “Show off? I don’t think I understand.”

Haldir turned around to face Mory then held out his hand. “Come on.”

Mory’s eyes glanced around the space filled with old crates and trashcans before looking back to Haldir. “Where exactly?”

Stepping towards her, Haldir looked down in Mory's face. The full moon was beginning to rise in the distance and every gold and copper fleck of her amber eyes twinkled as the light reflected off of them.

As his eyes fell down between the two of them, Haldir licked his lips then took Mory's hand before daring to look back at her. "Trust me."

Sliding his hand up the back of her parka, Haldir moved closer until Mory's chest rose and fell against his. As he leaned in and his beard brushed her face, Mory grinned bashfully and turned away making her round cheeks flush with color. "Are you ready?" he breathed softly in her ear.

Mory wasn't sure what he meant by that question, but she didn't care. Whatever he had planned at that moment, good or bad, she wanted it. "God, I hope so."