The Vigilante & The Dragon - Book 1 of the Guardians Saga [COMPLETED]

Countermoves 16.1

When Alex came home, Cale was waiting for her. The table was set with the mismatched Salvation Army plates, silverware, and wine glasses. A large bottle of wine presided over the table.

"That's right, it's your job to apologize," Alex said.

"My unwelcome job," he agreed. "Let's eat and drink before talking." Cale expertly poured two glasses of the rich red wine. Then he walked into the kitchen and came out with a steaming pot of soup.

"You made me dinner?" Alex stared.

"Cooking is another of my jobs. Sit down, please." Cale deposited the dish and went back into the kitchen. This time he came back with hot bread.

"Neither Gabe or Rile cook?" Alex asked after a bite of the bread.

"Gabe has atrocious taste. He would eat dirt if it would keep him alive. While Rile praises my cooking, he's too lazy to do it himself."

"He's smart enough to compliment you, so you continue," Alex finished. "I don't mind providing meals. I'm not doing much cooking. I mostly order mostly take out. It's a New Orleans thing. It's not like I'm doing your laundry or cleaning your place."

"Please dip the bread in this." Cale went back into the kitchenette, came back with a small dish of olive oil and herbs, and sat down. He waited until her mouth was full before saying, "Gabe and Rile have been fighting for many dry seasons. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle."

Alex dipped the steaming bread into the spiced olive oil. She bit into the sopping bread and it melted in her mouth. She felt like melting into the chair from sheer gustatory pleasure. "No need to apologize. Now, your brothers are always teasing you about being a priest, and you remind them that you only apprenticed with him and also with the healer. Tell me about that."

Cale copied her motions and ate his own bit of bread. "I'll tell you a story about myself and in return, you tell me a story about yourself." He smiled in his kindly way.

Alex rolled her eyes and dipped more bread into the oil. She took a big bite, but nodded.

"I enjoyed apprenticing with the healer. We started with examining the hatchlings of the clan. We would measure them and weigh them and check them for hide rot. It's curable if you catch it quickly. It's more a pleasure than a duty because the hatchlings are adorable and their parents so proud." Cale smiled wider, obviously in remembrance, and then took a long drink of wine.

"How do you cure hide rot?" Alex asked and quickly shoved more bread in her mouth.

"Medicinal oil along with extra sunning of the hatchlings," Cale said. "I enjoyed learning how to pick and prepare the medicinal herbs."

"Like what? Flowers? Green leaves? Bark?" Alex then took a long drink of wine.

Cale grinned. "I know you wouldn't try to avoid telling me your story by asking questions."

Alex huffed indignantly. "I can ask pertinent questions. What other things did you treat?"

"I liked setting broken bones. There's something satisfying in making right what is crooked and applying the splint. I regret the setting hurts, but they feel so much better once the bone is straight and the splint is on."

Alex nodded. "As long as it's a closed fracture. If the bone is jutting out of the skin, it creeps me out."

"You treated those? That's very difficult."

"No, that's way beyond paramedic training."

"What's a paramedic?"

Alex blinked in surprise at the question, and then held her head a pain pierced through her skull. White noise built in her ears and she heard Morgan's voice, as if from a distance, calling her trash and whore.