The Rancher's Daughter by Kyra Halland

Author:Kyra Halland [Halland, Kyra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: weird western, western fantasy, western fantasy gunslinger romance, magic western adventure, bounty hunter wizard, gunslinger wizard, western fantasy adventure
Publisher: Kyra Halland
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

WHEN LAINIE FINISHED her supper, Kesta held the baby out to her. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Kesta said proudly. “Do you want to hold him?”

Eagerly, Lainie reached for the baby, then she hesitated. Much as she wanted children, she had only held a baby a couple of times in her life. “I better not. I might drop him or hold him wrong.”

Kesta smiled. “It’s not hard. I’ll show you.”

Thus encouraged, Lainie couldn’t resist. She held out her arms and Kesta settled the baby in them, showing her how to support his head. The tiny, warm weight in her arms felt so good, so right. Carefully, Lainie nestled the soft, blanket-wrapped bundle closer to her breast. Her longing for a baby of her own, a need like magical hunger but far more tender, swelled until her heart ached. She turned her face aside, embarrassed at the tears that stung her eyes.

Kesta touched her cheek. “You don’t have any children?”

Lainie shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

“You’re barren?”

“No.” This was the first time she had ever had the chance to talk about this with another woman. Even if Kesta couldn’t help, it would be a relief just to tell someone who might understand. “My husband – in Granadaia, they put a spell on mage children so that they can’t have children until their marriage is approved by the Mage Council – the Granadaian wisemen. My husband broke the law to marry me, so I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get the spell removed.”

“Oh.” Kesta glanced at her husband, then forced a smile at Lainie. “Well, you mustn’t give up hope. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be able to have a child anyway.”

The insincerity of Kesta’s words felt like a slap in the face. Despite the hospitality and show of friendship, Kesta knew that something bad was going to happen to Lainie. “Even if I’m an offering?” she asked.

Kesta’s face crumpled and she looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“What are they going to do to me?”

“I don’t really know. I only know that it’ll help the clan against our enemies.

“But I don’t have anything to do with your enemies! Can’t you and your husband talk to the wiseman? He’s your husband’s grandfather; won’t he listen to you?”

“The wiseman says this is necessary,” Kesta said, almost pleading. “None of us have the authority to go against him. Not even my husband.”

There went the hope that they would help her against the wiseman. All at once, Lainie’s discouragement and exhaustion felt too heavy to bear any longer. She handed the baby back to Kesta. “I’m tired.”

Without speaking, Kesta laid the baby down in his cradle, then spread some blankets on the floor on one side of the hut. With only a few essential words passing between them, she helped Lainie hobble on her bound feet out to the necessary, a row of pits walled off with loose stick structures at the edge of the village. When they returned to the hut, Lainie lay down on the blankets.

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