Jade

Chapter 29

The journey to the cabin took about twenty minutes by foot.  If he let me walk it would probably take twice that.  I'm so confused.  I thought Ethan was supposed to be bad.  Aris didn't respond.  I hope he is okay after hitting his head.  I had my arms around his neck, so I put my hand on the back of his neck.  I looked at his eyes.  I saw strain.  He smiled appreciatively.  “I'm okay with it if you need Ethan to carry me,” I whispered.  “We are almost there.  Look.”  I turned and looked.  There it was.  I had never been so happy to arrive at a destination before.  We went to the front door, since without a snowmobile , there was no reason to go to the back.  Aris sat me down on my feet and grabbed the snow shovel.  He shoveled in front of the door to make it easier to get in.  He put the shovel to the side and placed his hand on a control panel by the door bell.  The door unlocked and Aris opened it.  He let me in first to another mudroom.  He and Ethan followed.  Ethan took his boots off and moved them next to a vent.  He put on a pair of house slippers.  Aris and I changed into sweat suits and house slippers.

“You do that changing thing too, huh?” Ethan asked.  I nodded my head yes, then stopped.  I put my hand to my head.  It hurt.  I started to fall.  I felt a little dizzy.  Aris grabbed a hold of me and picked me up.  He took me into the living room and sat me on the sofa.  He sat beside me and leaned back.  I just leaned against him.  “Ethan can you start the fire?” Aris asked.  “Sure,” Ethan answered, putting some kindling in the fireplace.  “Give me a minute and I will show you to your room,” Aris requested, “There are some clean clothes in it that should fit you.”  “Sure,” Ethan agreed.  Before long Ethan had the fire roaring.  “Jade, I will be back in a minute,” Aris told me, scooting out and laying me down.  “Okay.”

I awoke to Ethan carrying me upstairs.  “What's going on?” I asked.  “I am carrying you to bed.  Yaris is already there,” Ethan answered.  We cleared the stairs.  “I can probably walk now,” I told him.  “We are almost there.”  A few more steps then he sat me down on my feet.  Aris was already in bed.  He pulled the blanket and sheet back for me.  I got into bed and Ethan covered me up.   “Just yell if you need anything,” he ordered.  “Thank you.”  I waited for him to leave and changed into a short set to sleep in.  Aris was in shorts.  I snuggled up to him.  He must be really tired.  He didn't even wake up.  He just stirred a little.  I put my head on his chest and moved to where I was kind of laying on him.  I reached up and put my hand on the back of his neck.  He relaxed.  I started to doze.

After a few minutes, “Jade.”  I looked up at his face sleepily.  “How did you get here?”  “Ethan carried me,” I answered.  “How do you feel?” he asked.  “The headache finally went away.  I'm just tired now.”  He felt of my head with both of his hands.  He found the sore spot and covered it with his hand.  The soreness began to fade.  “I am sorry that I did not fix it earlier.  I could not because of the way that my neck was injured.”  “That's okay,” I smiled.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.  “A little,” I answered.  “I say we get something to eat, then finish your tour and follow up with a hot bath and bed.”  “Sounds good to me,” I agreed.  We got up and changed into sweats.  He led me away from the bed.  “Close your eyes,” he commanded, “save it for the tour.  I will carry you down.”  He scooped me up and carried me down the steps.  Ethan was in the kitchen.

“I am heating up Enchiladas, if you guys are hungry,” he announced.  “Sounds great,” I agreed.  Aris went to the refrigerator and got drinks.  We all sat at the dining room table.  “I'm confused,” I broke the silence, “I thought Ethan was bad.”  “What led you to believe that?” Ethan asked.  “Because Aris was worried about you knowing where we were after what happened at school,” I answered, “also, because Reagan was convicted of treason for feeding you information.”  “What happened at school was to keep someone else from getting a hold of you.  I just did that to last until you were with Yaris,” he commented, “And Reagan was lying.  I do not even know her.”  “Reagan was feeding information to Rosa and Jeffrey and the people that they were working with,” Aris told me, “I knew that she was lying about feeding Ethan information.  I had already told him we were here.  Why would he need the information from her?”  “Why were you worried about Ethan knowing where we were when we left my house?”  “I just wanted to make sure that connection was broken, and it was,” he answered.  “Why did Reagan think that feeding information to you was bad?” I asked Ethan.  “It was a story that we spread to figure out who our mole is,” Ethan answered, “I went away for a while and the story spread like wildfire.”

The oven timer began beeping.  Ethan got up and went to the stove.  He opened the oven door and delicious aromas spilled out and filled the room.  He put one of the bowls in the microwave to heat up.  “So how do you two know each other?” I asked.  “Yaris never told you about me?” Ethan asked.  “No,” I answered.  “We are brothers, well half brothers,” he answered, “I guess he has not mentioned our younger brother, James, has he?”  “No.  I knew he had two brothers.  He told some stories, but didn't tell me your names.” He took the bowl out of the microwave and put the other one in.

“Is there something I can do to help?” I asked.  “No. You are injured.  I would rather you both just sit,” he answered.  He brought Aris and I plates of food, then went back and got himself some.  We waited for him to sit, then began eating.  It was just as good reheated as it was fresh.  “This is really good.  Did you make it Yaris?” Ethan asked.  “No, actually, Ripley made it,” Aris answered, “but do not say anything to him.  His ego will grow to the size of this room.”  “I told him it was good and I didn't see any difference in his attitude,” I commented.  “He will not show it to you,” Ethan explained, “but the rest of us will see it.”  “It is considered a great honor for you to compliment someone,” Aris explained, “so do not compliment unless what has been done is truly worthy of the praise.”  “So I shouldn't praise Ethan for heating up the enchiladas to the perfect temperature?” I smiled.  “No, you should not,” Aris answered.  Ethan snorted.

Aris looked at him, then back at me, “What is so funny?”  “You don't understand sarcasm at all, do you?” I asked.  “No,” he answered, looking down.  “Then I will try not to do it anymore,” I told him.  He looked up at me with gratitude.  We finished eating with some light-hearted talk, but mostly in silence.  Then we cleaned up and put away the leftovers.

“Are you ready for your tour?” Aris asked.  “Yes,” Ethan and I answered at the same time.  Aris led us to a hallway just off of the living room.  The first door on the left was a full bathroom.  The rest of the doors, four total were bedrooms.  All unoccupied, except for the one at the end of the hallway.  It is Ethan's room.  They let me look in all of them.  Ethan's room had a full bathroom, but it had a shower/tub combo and one toilet.  The other bedrooms didn't have their own bathrooms .  Then Aris led us back out to the living room, then a sunroom that contained exercise equipment.  Then another smaller sunroom with a large hot tub.

“That completes the tour of the first floor.  How about a smoke before we continue?” Aris offered.  “Sounds great,” Ethan answered, “Let me suit up.”  Ethen headed for his bedroom.  We headed to the living room to wait for him.  Aris went to the fireplace and stirred the embers.  He added a couple of logs, then sat with me on the sofa.  I curled into his side and he took my hand.  He rubbed small circles on my palm with his thumb.  “I really don't want him to see our bedroom,” Aris whispered.  Didn't he see it when he carried me up?” I asked.  “That isn't our bedroom.  That is just another guest room and I think he knows that,” he answered.  “Just tell him you don't want him to see it,” I suggested.

“Do not want me to see what?” I heard from behind us.  I sat up.  Ethan came into the room and sat on a chair facing us, already suited up in a snowsuit.  “I do not want you to see our bedroom,” Aris answered.  “I thought you were sleeping in it earlier,” Ethan commented.  “No,” Aris shook his head no.  “That is a lot of trouble just to keep me from seeing it,” Ethan stated.  Aris didn't comment, but now he had me curious about what is in there.  “Fine, I will not look,” Ethan promised.  He stood up, “ ready to smoke?”  We both got up and followed him to the back porch.  I swear my snowsuit gets thinner every time I go out, yet I don't get cold.

Ethan lit a cigarette for me this time, lit one for himself, then passed the pack to Aris.  “So, how long will you be staying with us?” Aris asked.  “How long am I welcome?” Ethan smiled.  “Until tomorrow, then you are welcome at the main cabin for as long as you like,” Aris was direct.  “Sounds good,” Ethan agreed.  “No dropping in unannounced,” Aris continued.  “You were lucky I showed up.  She was so close to freaking out."  “No dropping in unannounced,” Aris repeated before I had the chance to defend myself.  “Fine,” Ethan agreed, “How often am I allowed to visit?”  “Once a week,” Aris answered.  “And how often will you visit the main cabin?” Ethan asked.  “Once a week,” Aris repeated, “and I will make sure you are available.”  “Deal,” Ethan smiled.

I think that there might be a little bit of hero worship going on here.  “You guys can hug if you want,” I suggested.  Ethan smiled even bigger, “I like her.”  “Okay,” Aris gave in.  They hugged but it looked like it turned into a competition of who could hug harder.  I stepped back.  “Max is back,” Aris told him.  Ethan stopped hugging him and got excited all over again. “He is at the main cabin,” Aris added, “but you have to wait until tomorrow.  They are not ready for you tonight.”  “That is fine.  I am staying with you.” Ethan stated.  “Have you heard from James recently?” Aris asked.  “Not for a while.  Last I heard he was in Hong Kong,” Ethan answered.  “He expects to return in two to three days,” Aris told him.  “Why, exactly, are we all being recalled at the same time?” Ethan asked.

“Every since I retrieved Jade we have been under attack.  I need to train her.  I am hoping that you all can run interference and make sure that we are not bothered,” Aris explained.  “For how long?” Ethan asked.  “I am not sure.  Maybe a month.”  “Have the others already agreed to this?”  “They have.”  “Okay.  I agree too.”  “Thank you Ethan,” I spoke up.  “You do not have to thank me, but you are welcome,” he responded, “as are you Yaris.” Aris just smiled.

We put out our cigarettes and went inside.  “Any chance that I will get to try that wonderful wine that everyone keeps raving about?” Ethan asked Aris.  “Yes,” I answered smiling.  They both smiled at me.  “We will meet you in the living room,” Aris agreed.