I bet he could. He had probably done it enough times himself. I pulled my arm away from him. “You told me yourself you weren’t ready to stand up with a woman.” I’d had no idea what the phrase meant when he said it, so I’d looked it up on the Internet. It meant he 242/356

didn’t want to stand up in front of a priest for a wedding. Like that’s why I’d wished for Robin Hood to come—no one in my own century would marry me.

He gave me a dazzling smile. “True, but your fair fingers not only change wood into gold but a man’s heart into fire.” No doubt it was the gold part that interested him.

Robin Hood held his hands out, palms up. “Who better than I to keep you out of King John’s grasp? I’ve eluded him for years. Don’t bother kissing that fellow farewell. Kiss me hello instead.” He put his arms on my shoulders and I worried that he was going to lean down and kiss me in front of everyone—in front of Hudson.

I stepped backward, smiling. “I’ll consider your words if you consider mine. Little John offered to ride Hudson partway to the village.

If you can spare the horse for a trip to the road, then certainly you can let Hudson take it for a little longer to ride to the village.” I gestured to a pile of medium-sized rocks on the ground. “If you do, I’ll change those into gold for you.”

Robin Hood’s blue eyes flickered over the rocks, calculating their potential wealth. The greed was taking hold.

“We have a shovel over there.” I pointed at our supplies. “If you can’t carry all of the gold now, you can bury some and come back later for it.”

He didn’t answer, so I stepped closer, putting my hand on his arm. “Please?”

Robin Hood’s lips twitched. I could tell he didn’t want to grant my request but couldn’t help himself. “I suppose we can spare one horse.” He turned and made a quick inventory of the horses, then called for Will to bring over a brown mare. “But you’ll need to change the extra wood as well.”

I didn’t think twice about agreeing.

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Changing the rocks to gold was more difficult than I thought.

“Rock, gold, gold, gold” didn’t work. The same thing had happened last night when I’d first tried to change the kindling. I had to figure out what sort of wood it was—oak—and then use that word.

“What sort of rocks are these?” I asked Robin Hood.

“Common forest rocks,” he said.

Not a really helpful description.

Hudson came and stood next to me. “Try sandstone, limestone, or granite. It’s not volcanic.”

Hudson was obviously not only gorgeous and brave but also smart. It sort of made me regret destroying my English grades. I bet Hudson took honors English. I could have been in his class.

It turned out the rocks were limestone. Each change ripped at my heart, but I wouldn’t pause to rest. Not for the rocks. Not for the wood.

When I was done, Little John took our shovel, proclaimed the blade to be “wonderful sharp,” and began to dig a hole to bury the extra gold.

Hudson helped me to my feet, then took the horse’s reins from Will. Wordlessly, we walked together toward the edge of the forest, the horse tromping nonchalantly after us. My heart was still clenched from changing things to gold, and I had to force myself to keep my footsteps steady. Just before we were swallowed up by the forest, I turned and looked over my shoulder. Robin Hood was watching us leave, his arms folded across his chest.

Even with gold at his feet and our provisions unguarded, he wouldn’t lose track of time. We wouldn’t have long before he figured out what we’d done. Would he come after us?

When we were out of sight, Hudson effortlessly mounted the horse then held his hand down for me. I grabbed it, ignoring the fact 244/356

that the horse was shifting her weight impatiently as though she didn’t welcome another rider.

As soon as I put my foot in the stirrup, Hudson heaved me up in front of him. He pressed his boots to the horse’s flanks and she trotted off through the trees.

“Well,” he said, “it looks like we’re off to see the wizard.”

“Let’s hope he turns out to be more helpful than the one in Oz.” Hudson took the walkie-talkie out of his pocket and turned it on.

Putting it next to his lips, he whispered, “Can you hear me?” Nothing but static answered him for a few seconds, then my father’s voice came over the speaker. “Did you say something?”

“I’m taking Tansy with me. She’ll be safer away from Robin Hood.

Out.”

“What?” Even over the poor connection, my father’s alarm was obvious.

I took the walkie-talkie from Hudson’s hand. “We’re afraid Robin Hood won’t let us reconnect otherwise. If you get back to camp before they come looking for us, don’t tell them what we’ve done.”

“Where are you?” Dad asked.

But we didn’t have time to talk. I scanned the forest ahead of us, half hoping I’d catch sight of my family through the trees and half hoping I wouldn’t. “I love you, Dad. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

It sounded too much like a good-bye. When my father spoke next, his voice rose. “Meet me at the car and we’ll talk about this.” Hudson took the walkie-talkie from my hand. “Here’s the new plan. We’ll bring the wizard back to the meeting place. It will take us at least two days, maybe even four. In two days, turn on your walkie-talkie for five minutes every hour. As soon as we’re within range, we’ll turn on our walkie-talkie and keep calling until we get ahold of you. Out.” 245/356

Hudson had barely finished speaking before my father’s voice came back over the speaker. “You can’t just take off with my daughter.

It isn’t safe—” He said more, but Hudson turned off the walkie-talkie and put it in the saddlebag.

I wished I’d been able to tell my father I was doing this for him, for the family.

In a few minutes, we reached the main road and Hudson brought the horse to a gallop. We were out in the world by ourselves. Fugitives not only from King John but from Robin Hood as well.

Chapter 18

We passed by the first village we came to. Hudson thought Robin Hood would look for us there. I had only ridden a horse a couple of times—always as part of some tourist trip where the horses gently strolled behind a guide. This was completely different. I spent the entire ride grasping hold of the saddle, the horse’s mane, and sometimes Hudson in an effort not to fall off.

Finally, we came to a village Hudson thought was safe, and we bought two fresh horses at an inn. I would have my own horse to ride, which meant it would be easier to stay on, but I would no longer have Hudson’s arms around me. Safety versus romance. It was a hard call whether to be happy or not.

We had to wait both for the horses to be saddled up and for the blacksmith to melt down the gold Hudson gave in payment. The innkeeper wanted to make sure it was real. Apparently not many people came through the village with gold acorns. While we waited for the stable boy to ready the horses, we bought provisions—food, blankets, cloaks—and studied the innkeeper’s map. At least, Hudson studied the map. I mostly paced near him, nervously checking for either Robin Hood’s or King John’s men.

The only people who paid extra attention to us though were two barefoot little girls who kept casting adoring looks at Hudson. They even followed us into the stable when we collected our horses. While Hudson put things into his saddlebag, I told him, “You have a fan club.”

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He glanced in the girls’ direction and they erupted in giggles.

Hudson winked at them, then turned back to me. “It’s only because women love a man in uniform.”

I leaned against the stall door. “You’re so right. I found those police officers who arrested me irresistible.” Hudson grinned. “You’re an exception to many rules.” Instead of putting a couple of the apples we’d bought into his saddlebag, he held them out to the girls. “Would you like to feed our horses?” The youngest girl took an apple but instead of offering it to the horse, she bit into it, devouring it in a few bites. Hudson watched her, then without saying another word, he took the bread and eggs from his saddlebag and gave them to the children. The younger girl grabbed her share, wide-eyed, and ran away, as though Hudson might change his mind and demand it back.