They agreed to leave at the end of the week and pass through her hometown for two days, departing on the second evening. Caitlin knew her mother's farmhand shouldn't be put out for her sake, so she insisted on staying at the Inn.
Kalen didn't want to cause a stir with the limousine; he made Micah drive them in the same wagon she'd arrived in. Offhandedly, she wondered if Micah had been the driver the first time around too.
Sara would not be coming this time, and Caitlin wondered if it were her fault. "He took a week off." Kalen commented, setting her suitcase by a bench inside the wagon. His plain clothes were uncharacteristically casual in contrast to his dark suits, she could almost call him 'Dale'.
"You're in my head, now?" Caitlin shot back.
He rose an eyebrow, "It was written all over your face when you saw Micah."
"Are they even allowed to take a week off?" she joked.
"I'm an employer, not a slaver." he chided gently, "Though others may not know the difference." He offered a hand, "Are you ready?"
She took his hand, and sat next to him on the bench, gripping the seat as Bailey took off at a canter. Caitlin's heart fluttered thinking about returning home.
It was a lifetime ago when she'd last tasted her mother's cooking, heard bleating of sheep, or smelled the pig slop. What would Janice Stone think of her daughter? Caitlin hoped nothing changed between them. Her auntie was opinionated and might parrot whatever story the old women made up around her disappearance. The rest of the old bats, she decided, could get stuffed.
She peered out into the gloom at the night sky, watching the moon ascend over the mountains. In a few hours, they'd be on flat, scorched earth, well on their way to her hometown.
The cart reared over the cobbled road, jostling her around. Kalen caught her shoulder so she didn't topple over, "Are you excited?"
"Yes, and a little nervous, I guess." Caitlin said, "What're you going to do during the day? How will we explain it?"
"I'll stay in the Inn, it will give you time to catch up with your mother. Remember what I said?"
"Nothing about you... you're Dale, a travelling merchant. I've been staying at your flat in the city if we haven't been exploring the countryside. We had a marvelous time visiting the circus recently, and I am looking forward to our trip to the beach." Caitlin finished, "Is that all?"
"You forgot the piano lessons." Kalen added.
"Right of course," Caitlin rolled her eyes, "how could I have forgotten?" She gripped the bench as Micah took them over a particularly nasty bump, "She'll want to meet you, you know."
"I'll stop by tomorrow evening, you two should catch up first."
"What is there to catch up on? I have to lie about what I've been up to, and I promise her last letter caught me up well enough on the town's current events. Even their freshly baked bread comes out of the oven stale." Kalen did not respond, but when she looked up, a smile curved at the edge of his lips. "What?"
"You wanted to return so badly, and now, in the face of it, you are scared." He looked down at her, "And you hide behind nonchalance as if it will protect you. It cannot be concealed from me, you should know that by now."
"Perhaps I can hardly admit it to myself." She confessed, "This place was all I knew, now... I don't know why it bothers me so much."
Kalen laced a hand through hers and squeezed, "Do not worry about anyone's opinion, they merely vie for something to gossip about, as you made mention. People talk." His sentiment was true, Caitlin knew, but it didn't ease the tension in her neck.
After a long silence, Kalen finally spoke again.
"Micah will be accompanying you during the day."
"How the hell am I supposed to explain that?" She glanced up at him, "'Oh, yeah, and by the way, here's our driver as well. Where's Dale, you ask? Don't worry about him, he's got a 'skin condition' that is exacerbated by the sun'."
"Tell them I am occupied. Papers and such, they do not need the details." Kalen straightened the seam of his brown slacks.
Caitlin had always wondered, "What does happen, if you're exposed to the sun?"
He did not answer for a moment, and when he finally did, it came with a sigh, "I only know what I have heard, never tested it myself... but, it is said to consume our flesh rapidly. Unlike many things, we do not recover well from the sun's rays."
"How long?" she asked, with a little too much animation.
Kalen watched her, "I think that is enough questions."
The rest of the journey was laced with a sullen silence, save for the brisk trot of Bailey's hooves. Eventually, Caitlin began to recognize the landscape. The tall trees gave way to shrubbery, that became dry crabgrass clinging to the salinized soil.
Then they passed an old tree, dry and dead, but for anyone living there, a clear marker showing where the town began. Familiar smells wafted through the cool night air.
Caitlin was home.
*
"Caitlin!" a gray-haired Marjorie shouted, dashing around the counter, and wrapping her in a big, soft hug. The innkeeper's enthusiasm was unexpected.
"Marjorie!" the woman's squeeze made her release an 'oof'. "I'm sorry it's so late, is there room available tonight?"
The woman guffawed, "There's always room, you know we don't make money from the lodgings. It's either the food or booze." She eyed Kalen, "Unless this bugger comes into town, stealing away our girl. You've got some explaining to do." He shrugged at her accusation. Marjorie returned her attention to Caitlin, "You're looking well! Janice said you were out, exploring the world. Looks as if it did you some good." Marjorie decided.
"She told you, did she?" Caitlin scratched the back of her neck.
"There ain't much she hasn't said. How long will the two of you be staying?"
"Three days." Kalen interjected, "And we'll need two rooms." He was all business, cold in contrast to Marjorie's motherly warmth.
"Haven't bunked up, yet?" The innkeeper teased.
"We have a driver," Kalen corrected. Caitlin noticed he had a slight aversion to the woman, but remained genteel, "the horse needs lodging as well."
"That we can do, I'll wake the husband." She teetered into an office, hollering for Darryl.
Soon enough, a tousled yawning Darryl emerged, his belly sagged out of his nightshirt. "Whaddaya want, woman-" he caught sight of their guests, "Caitlin, well I'll be damned."
Marjorie slugged him, "Don't test the Lord, husband, He might take you up on it. Go stable up their horse, I'll set up their rooms."
Darryl rubbed away the pain and left, but not after looking like he'd seen a ghost. And perhaps, Caitlin considered, he had. Was there anything left of the small-town girl they'd known?
"Did you want something to drink while you wait?" Marjorie offered.
Caitlin shook her head, wanting the reunion to be over before it began. "No. Thank you, though." She smiled. Kalen shifted her suitcase to his other hand.
The innkeeper nodded and left them alone in the front.
Micah entered, looking windblown and exhausted, "It's like this place gets smaller ever time you visit." He scoffed. "Least the boarding's cheap, huh?"
