Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Thirty Four

     Lily, Lincoln, and Locke sprang to their feet and fired their first round of shots at Rhett. The volley of darts pelted him in the chest as he struggled to aim at one of them. He fired one off that barely grazed Locke's shoulder and Locke smirked. Lincoln was bent at the middle, his forehead barely peeking over the cushions while he waited for his father to poke his head up. Right as Link had risen with his gun ready in his hands, Lincoln fired and got Link right in the adam's apple. Link choked and lowered himself. His eyes watered as a laugh threatened to roll off his tongue.  

     "Crap kid, with aim like that you could—" Rhett was cut off when a dart caught him in the mouth. He toppled to the floor and looked at his friend with wide eyes. Before he spoke, he turned his head to spit the dart out. "I don't remember their aim being this good," he hissed. 

     Link laughed. "They've been practicing dude!"

     "Oh dad," Lily and Lincoln sang at the same time.

     "You guys are ruthless!" Link cried out as he tried to feign innocence.

     "Don't be a coward!" Locke shouted.

     "That's it," Rhett declared, and he perched himself on his knees and aimed for Locke's shoulder. The dart hit home this time and Locke laughed. "HA! Finally got you, you little bugger!" Rhett lowered himself again and sat back to back with Link.

     "We have to do this strategically," Link offered, and Rhett nodded his head.

     "If we both pop up at the same time, they'll have an easy advantage. But if we take turns in rapid succession, they'll have a tougher time," Rhett whispered. 

     "We'll hope they have a tougher time." Link agreed. He shot up first, firing a round of eight. Two of them grazed Lily's belly, one of them flew into Locke's curly hair which made everyone laugh, two of them hit the curtain of the window behind them, and two of them got stuck in the barrel. Link looked into the barrel and hastily pulled the trigger.

     "Dad, wait that's not how you—" Lily ripped into shrill laughter when a dart flew out and pelted Link right between the eyes. He flew backward with a cry, and Rhett pealed with laughter, his chest glowing red. Lincoln took the ample opportunity to fire two darts, one that nearly knocked Link's glasses off of his face and another that hit Link's chest and landed in his shirt. "Hey dad, wanna see how good my aim is?" Lily asked. 

     Link rose to his feet and bent at the stomach, holding his hands up. "Why don't you show me. If you hit both of my hands on the first two tries, I'll give you ten bucks. Five for each hand." 

     Lily grinned, totally up for the challenge. She loaded another round of darts into her gun and steadied the crossbow so she could aim. Rhett watched with curiosity, and the room grew silent. Even Lando and Shepard watched at this point, where as before they weren't really into the war. Not much like the older kids. 

     Her finger lightly touched the trigger as she drew in a shaky breath. She took into account that Link was closer to her, so she'd have to aim lower. She made eye contact with him before aiming at his right hand. Lily pulled the trigger and the dart flew, smacking into Link's palm. It stung from the blow and he flicked his hand about. "What the crap, Lil!" 

     Lily beamed; and Lincoln, Shepard, and Locke cheered her on. Lando clapped excitedly. Link held up his left hand as he tucked his right hand behind him.

     "That's five bucks," Rhett commented, pretending he was a spectator. Lily licked her lips, her mind set on earning that 10 dollars and showing everyone how great her aim was. She rose the crossbow up another time and pointed at Link's left hand. 

     She pulled the trigger on three. The dart hit his left palm and Rhett flew up to his feet with his arms straight up in the air. "Ohhhhhhhhh! Ten bucks goes to Lily Neal. Congratulations!" Rhett stepped over his side of the fort and took one of Lily's arms, raising it in the air. She giggled, earning a round of applause from the boys. 

     Link inclined his head with a smile on his face. "I'm really impressed, Lily. I can see that you've been practicing!"

     "It sounds like you're having way too much fun out here," Christy said then she smiled. Jessie joined her side, shaking her head at the goofy kids and their husbands. 

     Link looked at the time and his jaw dropped. He hadn't realized how much time had passed because they were having so much fun. It was close to dinner time, and he clapped his hands together. "Who wants pizza tonight?"

     "We do!" All of them said at once, including Rhett. Link laughed and shook his head.

     "I'll call it in," Jessie offered.

     Christy met her husband's gaze, her lips pulled into a slight frown. "Link, can I talk to you for a moment?" 

     Link glanced at Rhett and Rhett inclined his head. Link took a deep breath and Christy took his hand. She led him upstairs away from earshot of the kids. Link could hear the kids giggling as Rhett started entertaining them. Christy closed the door as Link sat on the bed, his head lowered. 

     "Sweetheart, you look like I'm going to reprimand you. I'm just really worried about you. It's not like you to leave in the middle of the night like that." 

     Link licked his lips. Every ounce of his soul wanted to come forward and tell her everything that's been happening since Thursday, but he knew he had to keep it a secret to protect her. To protect his kids. He shook his head and rubbed his hands together. His nerves fired up and crackled like hot burning embers. 

     Christy moved to take a seat on the bed next to him and nuzzled his neck. She closed her eyes. "You know you can tell me anything, right," she said, interlocking her fingers with his.

     He inhaled deeply, his hands shaky. Normally his hands had a little tremor to them, but it was worse than normal. He knew he could tell his beautiful wife anything, but there was one thing that he couldn't force himself to tell her. Link didn't want to destroy her perception of what the world was. "I know. I've just got a lot on my mind lately."

     "I can see that. Do you think you're going to need a vacation from work? I mean, I know you mostly have fun on the show, but it must be exhausting trying to come up with new ideas all the time." 

     Link didn't say anything, and he took her suggestion into consideration. 

     "After seeing a dead body today, I can only imagine how terrified you are. I think you need a break," she added hopefully. 

     "I probably do need a break. I'll think about announcing an intermission, alright? If things get worse."

     "If things get worse, I'm going to suggest that you see a therapist." 

     Link's eyes widened and he swallowed noisily. "You think I'm crazy," he choked, unable to hide the hurt in his tone. 

     She pulled away from him, shaking her head adamantly. "No! No, no, no.  I don't think you're crazy! When you're having spells where you're breaking mirrors and disappearing in the middle of the night, I have every right to be concerned and suggest options to help you. I can see that carrying the weight of work is beginning to affect you psychologically.  Baby." She looked into his eyes. His lips quivered and she leaned in, planting a soft kiss on them. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, unable to contain the grin that snuck across his lips. Christy smiled and patted his leg.

     There was a soft knock on the door and Christy called for them to enter. 

     Jessie opened the door and poked her head in. "Dinner's gonna be here in 20 minutes."