Every Battle Lord's Nightmare

Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Meeting

Once informed and his party that he and were accepting the invitation to attend the summit in , the brigade left Alta . With their guests on their way home, he called for a meeting of those considered to be in their inner circle of friends and confidants. They met in the battle lord"s lodge. She and Madigan took the comfy chairs, while the others either sat on the floor, or stood around while took a stance in front of them.

Glancing around the room, observed who was in attendance. Of everyone present, the only person who appeared out of place was the compound"s newest physician, Fergus Thrasher. Already, the villagers had started calling him Dr. Gus. A recent immigrant from a northern compound, the short, stocky man was already proving his worth.

She glanced down at her hands as her thoughts went back to the elderly Dr. Saxon. Although she hadn"t known the man long, she missed the scholarly physician, who"d succumbed to pneumonia a little over a month ago. Thrasher had been Saxon"s understudy. When the sick man realized he may be lying on his deathbed, he had sent word for Thrasher, requesting the physician relocate to Alta . Luckily, Thrasher arrived shortly before Saxon succumbed. Or, as she would like to think of it, the old man had stubbornly clung to life long enough to say his final goodbyes to his student.

Hopefully, Thrasher would prove the old adage that third time was the charm. Of the two men whom had been training to take over his practice, one had been killed, and the other, a named Benito , had gone to a compound that was in serious need of a physician.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

glanced up to see her husband addressing the group.

“The reason I"ve asked you here is twofold. I wanted to speak to each of you, but time prohibits me meeting with you individually.” He took a deep breath. “ and I have been invited to attend a summit conference in . That"s an eleven-day journey just to get there. The summit is scheduled to begin on May sixth. That means we need to leave in three days to make it on time.”

“A summit usually calls for an armistice,” a voice drawled from the back of the room. Everyone"s eyes looked over to where leaned against the wall, one boot crossed over the other. “I hope you"re planning on packing some heat, anyway. Just in case.”

grinned. “You’re right. You never know what we"ll encounter along the way. , Paxton, enlist three dozen men to accompany us. We"ll take two wagons. One with supplies, the other for arms. Also, send word to New . Tell Roth and I need one of them back here to oversee the troops in my absence. I don"t care who. Mother and Liam will be in charge, but I want a trained commander to head my army if something should happen.”

“Warren"s going, too?” spoke up from where he was standing behind Madigan, who was bouncing their young son on her shoulder.

glanced at , then back at . “If you"re asking if leaving with me, the answer is yes.”

leaned forward to address the issue before the man could protest. “ and I have already discussed this, Liam. Our decision stands. I"m going with him.”

“It"s crucial that she does,” continued. “I believe the only way these treaties will come about, if there are to be more, is because both sides need to see how well we all work together. They need to see me and together.”

“What about Mattox? Is he going with you?” Madigan inquired.

answered. “No. Not this time.”

“We were hoping you and Tory could sort of...watch over him.” grinned at his mother. “Trade off taking care of him when he gets to be too much of a handful.”

A loud sigh caught their attention. Fortune raised a hand. “I"m hearing myself volunteering for this thing,” he halfway joked.

“We need you, Fortune,” told him.

Tory laid a hand on his shoulder. “You know your feelings would be hurt if they didn"t take you with them. Or at least ask you,” she chided her husband in a loving tone. The man snorted but gave her a warm smile in response.

“Liam.”

turned his attention back to the battle lord.

“Liam, you know that and I would be more than grateful if you"d accompany us, but we"re also aware that you need to remain here to take care of Mother and the baby.” dropped his eyes to the other physician. “That"s why you"ve been included in this gathering, Fergus. The mantle falls on you. We need you to come with us to .”

The young doctor paled slightly, flabbergasted by the order had disguised as a request. “I"m... All right.” He turned to . “I"m going to need some pointers on what to expect. And what to pack.”

“Don"t worry. I"ll help you get ready,” the older physician promised. He turned to Atty. “And, for the record, I don"t think it"s a good idea that you travel in your condition Still...” He gave her a weary smile. “Since when has my opinion changed your mind once you’ve set it? Be safe, bluebell. And that"s an order.”

“Why am I here?” another voice spoke up.

dropped his eyes on the woman sitting thigh-to-thigh with his second. threw him a bewildered look.

“You were welcomed into our squad of elite hunters,” the battle lord reminded her. “But you are not certified as one of my soldiers. Therefore, I have no right to order you to do anything when it comes to protecting this compound.”

Again, intervened. “? What he"s trying to say is, you are one of our best hunters, and an excellent warrior. Which is why it was my decision to ask you if you would come with us, as well.”

stared at her open-mouthed for a moment before shutting it. The flush in her cheeks faded, and she visibly took an emotional step backwards. smiled, knowing why. “You thought you were expected to remain here?”

“Why else would you tell Cole to have me come here with him?”

“To fight alongside him,” answered. “I remember how it was when and I were separated. I don"t want to put you and Cole through that. Not after all you"ve done for us. I know you plan to exchange vows come the spring. I want to make sure you get to do that.”

“Then my answer is yes.” The woman smiled warmly.

“Good. Now that we"ve made those decisions, it"s time to pack.” glanced around the room. “We leave at first light the day after tomorrow. I suggest everyone get as much rest as possible before then, because this could turn out to be a hard, grueling trip.”

Fifteen minutes later, the small crowd had left, leaving the battle lord and his lady alone. Drawing an arm around her, pulled her close and dropped a kiss to her hair. “Afraid, excited, or both?” he inquired.

She laid her head against his shoulder. “Both.”

“So tell me what worries you.”

When she glanced up at him, he snorted. “You know I can read you as well as you can read me.”

“What worries me? The unknown. That always worries me. As much as it worries you. But I know that we can handle whatever is thrown at us when we"re together. Let"s go and attend this summit with an open mind, my love, and hope we make a difference.”

“We will, . We can only hope that we will.”