War of the Fathers Read Free

woman.
    No wonder why Adar hated weddings. He hadn’t attended
one in years. He still wasn’t quite sure why he had bothered to come. He should
have guessed Jorad and Soret would skip it. He didn’t have a problem with them
as long as it didn’t keep Jorad from going to Rarbon.
    Jorad was needed there and his escort was long
overdue. Adar had been feeling uneasy for the last several months and he was
beginning to wish that he'd paid attention to his discomfort. It felt to him
like there was a storm just over the horizon but he had decided long ago that
he would refuse to act on his fears because if he always paid attention to the
little voice in the back of his head that was saying something was wrong, he'd
go insane. He just prayed that he wouldn’t later regret blocking out the
feeling.
    Adar turned to leave and almost knocked over Wes.
    “Trying to run me over like you did her?” Wes asked.
“If you broke my leg, it’d still be better to be me. Wow, you were rude and to
a pretty lady no less!”
    Wes was scrawny for seventeen, enough to be mistaken
for a kid years younger and easily overlooked. His ears poked out from the side
of his head. That together with his too wide mouth probably kept the girls
away. He was dressed in his finest clothing as well, but for him that wasn't
saying much. Adar felt a stab of sympathy for the kid.
    The lad laughed. “Course, it could just be your game.
A woman like that gets what she wants. She’ll just try harder now.”
    “How long have you been standing there?” Adar
demanded. Wes had a point. Ginne might become more forward. Confound it, what
else could Adar do?
    “And ripping on the wedding? People already don’t like
you as it is.”
    “I’m not here to make friends.”
    “Jorad’s nice enough, what’s wrong with you? Ginne has
managed to overlook that and you push her away. Is there a bad love affair that
you’re still bitter about?” Wes paused. “You do like women don’t you?”
    Adar glared at Wes until he looked away.
    “I guess it can’t be that since you fathered Jorad,
but still, things can change.”
    “You talk too much.” Adar had been rude, but he
couldn’t think of a way to apologize that wouldn’t encourage Ginne further.
Despite the kid’s brash words, Adar regarded him with care. A recently orphaned
kid could be given some deference. Given all the kid had been through, Adar
couldn’t figure out how he was always smiling. His laugh was often heard around
Neberan.
    “I don’t speak enough,” Wes said. “If I did, I’d get
trampled less.”
    “But you’d get kicked more.” Adar couldn’t help but
smile and Wes unfortunately took that as a cue to keep talking.
    “Ginne’s a nice lady. Not many men would chase her
away. Afraid she has the plague? Or maybe it’s been so long since you’ve been
with a woman you’ve forgotten how to act. It’s easy. Just relax, it comes
naturally.”
    “I trust you know.” The kid had a way about him. The easygoing
attitude, the constant ribbing, it was hard not to like him. Maybe Wes would
have a chance with the ladies after all. “Where’s your woman?”
    Wes didn’t miss a step. “At the moment I’m playing the
field, you see? Can’t do that with a date chattering away on my arm. Course, if
I was your age, I’d take what was offered to me. Before long your hair will all
be gray.”
    “Would you now?” Right at that moment Ginne caught
Adar looking at her and he winced. He hated it when somebody had him pegged,
especially when he went to great lengths to give them a different impression.
    “Not natural you know, ignoring your feelings like
this.” Wes turned and looked admiringly after Ginne who noticed and winked at
him. “Ah, if I were an older man.”
    “Give it a shot anyway,” Adar said as he walked away.
“Maybe she’d be up for a kid like you.”
    Wes laughed. “She’s almost as old as my mother.” His
voice cracked. The pain of her death was evidently still fresh for