Chapter 1219
“She wants to open a center-specifically for kids struggling with mental health issues p>
Clayton raised an eyebrow. “Really? But she didn’t even major in psychology. What made her want to do that p>
“She spent a few years living out in the wilderness. Picked up a lot on her own. Now she’s really into it p>
Clayton perked up at the mention of the wilderness. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that! I heard back when Irene had that accident, someone rescued her, and she ended up living in the woods with her kids for five years. Do you know who helped her p>
“No idea p>
Clayton looked surprised. “Not even you know p>
“Nope. Elysia told me she promised her rescuer she wouldn’t talk about what happened out there, or share anything about the person p>
Clayton’s jaw dropped. “That secretive, huh p>
“Yep p>
Clayton sighed. “I was hoping to find out who it was, so I could thank them properly p>
Tarquin, for his part, felt more curiosity than anything else.
He wondered what kinds of people lived in those woods, and what exactly went on out there.
Elysia was amazing with holistic medicine-she always knew what to do when someone was sick.
And Elliot, Evan, and Emmett? Each of those kids is a prodigy in their own right. Sure, they’ve got natural gifts, but you don’t get that far without a good mentor.
No way Elliot could be making that much money as a kid without someone guiding him.
No way Evan could be that skilled.
And Emmett—no matter how smart he is—wouldn’t have picked up all those sleight-of-hand tricks on his own!
And then there’s White, that clever little snake of theirs. You don’t find animals like that unless they come from a truly unique place.
There aren’t many things in this world that fascinate Tarquin-but the people from Elysia’s past, and everything that happened in those woods, definitely did.
He was very, very curious.
Downstairs, Pamela and the kids were starting to wake up.
Whoever bumped into Tarquin first would always ask about Elysia.
He brushed off their questions with the same line: “She stayed up too late reading, so she’s catching up on sleep p>
Once breakfast was ready, Tarquin took a tray upstairs.
Elysia hadn’t fallen asleep yet. When she saw him, she immediately rolled her eyes.
Tarquin just grinned. “Nobody
sus thing. They all say you
can’t keep burning the candle at both ends, even if you’re studying.
Health comes first.” fo
Elysia gritted her teeth. “You’re such a jerk p>
Tarquin chuckled. “I made you some oatmeal the way you like it. Let me help you eat a bit p>
He set the breakfast on her nightstand, helped her sit up, and tucked a pillow behind her back.
Sitting next to her on the bed, Tarquin spooned oatmeal for her.
Elysia was starving-exhausted and hungry, like she’d been doing manual labor all night.
As he fed her, Tarquin said, “Dad was asking earlier about your rescuer from the woods. He wants to find a way to thank them p>
Elysia paused mid-bite. “How’d that come up p>
“He just brought it up. Are you planning to go back out there sometime p>
“Yeah. The kids have wanted to for
situatie we’ve sorted out Zane’s
and Mom’s health is better,
at
I promised them we’d make a trip. Honestly, I want to go back too p>
Tarquin immediately said, “Take me with you when you go.” All his curiosity pointed straight to that place. Elysia looked at him, hesitating.
He jumped in with a reason: “Come on-your-rescuer out there obviously cares about you and the kids. Don’t you think they’d want to meet your husband? It’s like meeting your in-taws for the first time p>
Elysia just muttered, “We’ll see when the time comes p>
They both thought it would be ages before they went back.
Neither of them realized just how soon they’d need to return-and this time, there
was no avoiding it.