Chapter 50

Jason woke to a house quiet except for the steady drone of rain on the roof. It had rained hard the whole day before and it still continued in a steady downpour. He knew what he had to do but was reluctant to leave the warm dry house to go to the castle. He would be soaked to the skin before he got out of the yard but it had to be done. He pulled his blanket off and got up and started the fire in the stove then put a pot of water on to make coffee. He went over to Ryan's pack and pulled out his stash of ground coffee closing the pack up and making it look like it had never been touched. He made a lot of coffee because he knew it would get consumed quickly. Lars joined him in the kitchen and put a pan on the stove as well. When it was hot he sliced bacon into it and smiled at the wonderful aroma and the crackling sound it made. He smiled widened when Jason handed him a cup of coffee. "So what is the plan for today Jason?"

"Well, I need to go to the castle and arrange for supplies and check with how the arrangements are going for the defense when the enemy approaches. Ryan commented there would probably be a couple of Rangers there looking for something to do so I was going to get them to join us in harassing the enemy on the coast. Why keep all the fun to myself?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll go with you to arrange for someone to come and stay here with the kids. It was a bit crazy when we were there a couple of days ago." Said Lars

"I was going to take Ryan with me so we could get things done quicker and Joey said he needed to go to the healer school and stock up on supplies. I guess that leaves Byron to hold the fort and keep the kids from tearing apart my house."

"Those two have been through a lot but keep smiling despite it. They have been asking to help with anything. When we camped the night after we rescued the kids most of them just sat on the ground but Sylvia was busy making beds out of branches for everyone. Then when supper was done she got up and cleaned the dishes without a word being said. I have no idea why a parent would sell either of them let alone both. I hope they pay a high price."

"You sound like you might adopt them. I think you need a wife to do that. By the way are you still sweet on the baker's widow?"

"You mean my fiancé?" He smiled widely as he said it.

"You're serious" Jason asked. Lars nodded. "Congratulations. When is the big day? Am I invited?"

"We haven't set a date yet but yes I guess we have to invite you as Angela really likes you for some reason. By the way I think you have single-handedly changed the image of a Ranger. We had a reputation as people to be avoided unless you absolutely had to. Now I walk into Eramon and every one smiles and waves. Some even say hello. Ruined."

"I don't think you can blame me for that since you are the one who has been hanging out at the bakery every day. You also shaved off your evil goatee. I think that alone was the reason people avoided you!"

"It wasn't evil. It gave me an air of menace is all. Bacons ready. If you look in Byron's pack you'll find a dozen eggs but do it quietly as I'm not supposed to know of them." He grinned.

"Well you're drinking Ryan's coffee so it's only fair to add some of Byron's supply to this meal. After all we're cooking it." Jason noted how Byron's pack lay the quickly dug out the eggs then reset it to look as it was. "I'm surprised they aren't in here holding out mugs yet. Between the smell of bacon and the smell of coffee I don't know how they're still in bed."

As he said that the bedroom door opened and out walked Aiden and Sylvia. Sylvia closed the door quietly then joined them in the kitchen. Aiden grabbed a bucket and went outside returning with a full bucket of water which he set to one side. Sylvia in the meantime set seven places at the table. It was a small table so the plates were really close together. The two of them then grabbed chairs from around the place and set them around the table. When they had all four of the chairs in the place arranged around the table Aiden grabbed the broom while Sylvia went to the fireplace and started cleaning out the ashes from the previous night's fire.

Jason was impressed. Lars nodded to him still impressed by the two children. The bedroom door opened and Byron walked out. Jason could see a fire going in the fireplace in the room and that the room was clean and neat. Byron had been up for a bit already, he saw no sign of Ryan. Byron came into the kitchen and saw the eggs cooking and took a quick glance at his pack. Ryan walked in the front door soaked to the skin and covered in mud. He looked disgusted.

Byron looked at him with a raised eyebrow "What happened to you?"

"When you pushed me out the window I landed on my face. By the time I got around to the horses I had slipped in the mud another couple of times. After I fed the horses I walked around the front of the house and the rain barrel decided to spring a strake as I walked by emptying all at once washing my feet out from under me. All this just so they wouldn't think we slept later than them." He shook his head then walked to his pack and looked for some spare clothes. He closed his pack disgustedly remembering all his shirts were wet and needing to be washed.

Jason walked over to him and handed him a coffee. "Thanks for taking care of the horses. I have a dry shirt in the bedroom closet."

"Thanks." He said then sipped the coffee. "Remind me next time to take my pack with me when I sleep in another room."

From under a blanket in the corner of the room Joey asked "Hey where is my coffee?" followed by a chorus of four voices "In the pot." Followed by laughter as Joey got up and moved to the pot mug in hand.

"Ryan get changed, then join us for bacon and eggs courtesy of Byron and Lars." Byron looked at his pack again. After they had eaten Jason, Joey, Lars and Ryan rode out to the castle. Byron called after them "Don't forget to replace my eggs." They were soaked to the skin before they were out of the yard.

As they entered the trees Jason said to Lars "Remind me to ask if there is any of the outer wear the fishermen use around."

"I hope they have enough for all of us. I'd hate to have to fight you for them." Joked Ryan.

"Who knows maybe Maddie is there claiming them already." Lars said with a straight face but Jason cracked a smile while Ryan grimaced.

"I'm never going to live that down am I?"

"Nope!" Both Jason and Lars said together. Joey shook his head.