The Men of Ramshire Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Episode 1

  Episode 2

  Episode 3

  Episode 4

  Episode 5

  Episode 6

  Episode 7

  Episode 8

  The Men of Ramshire - Season 2

  By Diane Lennox

  Copyright 2017 Diane Lennox. All rights reserved.

  www.dianelennox.com

  To Adam, for always being by my side no matter what.

  I love you.

  And to everyone who took a chance on me and this project.

  It means more to me than you’ll ever know.

  Episode 1

  The front door shut.

  “Gods damn it!”

  Leander Kane looked to his grandfather upon hearing him swear and immediately flinched back into his chair at the sight of his expression. He’d never seen the older man look so disappointed or angry in his entire life.

  “We’ll fix this. I’m sorry, boys,” Jacob said to Leander and Simon with a weary sigh. “I’ll give your father a good talking to and get him to apologize as soon as it seems right to.”

  “I’m sure everything will be alright,” Leander said softly, praying that his words were true. He had no idea what had gone on and he had no idea if Marius was a forgiving sort of man or not. The only thing giving him hope at the moment was his and Simon’s relationship with Alexei. He liked to think that Marius wouldn’t want to keep Alexei away from them, not when all three of them were so happy together.

  He then looked to Simon, expecting his brother to say something optimistic and determined as usual.

  Except he didn’t.

  Instead Simon’s eyes were wide, his face pale, and his pupils were frantically dancing around like he was desperate to find something and kept coming up emptyhanded.

  It wasn’t a look Leander liked on his brother at all, and he usually only saw it when their father was late returning back from a hunt. It was also a look that brought out a side of Leander that he was a little scared of – the side of himself that would do literally anything for his twin, the man he considered to be the other half of his soul.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Leander suddenly announced, looking away from Simon and to his grandfather.

  Jacob cocked an eyebrow at him. “Take care of what?”

  Whatever adrenaline rush that had fueled Leander to speak up disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving behind a wave of anxiety in its wake. What in the hells was he doing?! He understood his desire to protect Simon and make everything right again so he wouldn’t have to see his brother look so scared and small, but the plan his over-zealous brain had come up with was one he probably shouldn’t be daring to put into play yet.

  “Leander?” Jacob prompted again.

  Leander looked back at Simon, hoping to gain back his resolve. There were so many times in his life when it was Leander in that position – scared, overwhelmed, and at a loss – and it was almost always Simon who made sure that Leander was taken care of. Perhaps Leander’s plan to help involved him tackling a certain issue a bit too soon, but he had to start somewhere, and now really did seem like the perfect opportunity.

  “Um, may we speak privately for a moment?” Leander asked, looking back to his grandfather.

  “Sure. It’s not like I’ll be eating now anyways. If the rest of you want to eat, go ahead, if not, you can start putting things away in the fridge,” Jacob said to the rest of the family more gruffly than usual.

  “I’ll start packing things up,” Jamie said and stood.

  “Thanks, Jamie,” Jacob said then headed out of the room and up the stairs to the twin’s bedroom.

  Leander followed behind him and shut the door once they were both inside. Then he walked over to his bed and took a seat, motioning for his grandfather to join him.

  “Sorry for my mood, Leander, don’t take it personally. I’m just really pissed at Lazarus. He’s never embarrassed our family like this before,” Jacob said as he joined Leander.

  “I know,” Leander said then took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He wished he had at least spoken to Simon about his idea before talking to Jacob. It would have been easier if he knew he had his brother’s support. “Um, before we talk about the situation with father, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about first.”

  Jacob frowned. “I’m not sure if I’m in the right mood to be having any sort of serious talk right now, Leander.”

  “I know, but I promise it’ll be relevant shortly. Please, indulge me?”

  Jacob let out a heavy sigh, but nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “Well, um,” Leander said then swallowed hard, his heart starting to race. “I’m not really sure how to go about this in an entirely tactful way, but please know that I don’t mean any disrespect to anyone.”

  “Just let it out, Leander. I’m listening.”

  “Gods help me,” Leander prayed softly before blurting out the one secret he’d been keeping from Simon. “I want to be the next Shar of the Kane family. I want to be your successor.”

  Jacob’s jaw dropped, but Leander was grateful that his grandfather just looked surprised, not angry.

  “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, grandpa,” Leander said, deciding to take his grandfather’s stunned silence as an opportunity to explain himself. “I don’t think anyone else in our family is suited for the position. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, I love our family, which is why I want to be the next Shar in the first place, it just, well… I mean today highlighted some of the problems of not having me as your successor. I love my father more than anything, but he isn’t going to be a good Shar. A Shar needs to be able to handle the family and the family’s interactions with other clans and that just isn’t one of his strengths.

  “Then there is Amos and Jamie and I can’t see either of them being interested in becoming Shar. Jamie loves his job at the Ruby Room and is very invested in that and Amos just doesn’t have the drive to be Shar. I believe he would take very good care of us if he did become Shar, but he doesn’t exactly have the best people skills either. As for Simon, well, he’s going to be out there in the world doing his thing bringing pride to our name soon enough. He’ll be too busy to take care of anyone else.

  “I know I can be shy and meek sometimes, but not when it comes to my family. Thinking of being Shar makes me feel powerful and strong and happy. I want to take care of our family and I want to support everyone in their endeavours and make sure our clan is well respected, despite being a little notorious. I believe I can do this, grandpa, and I hope you don’t think I’m being disrespectful by announcing my desires like this.”

  Leander took a deep, shuddering breath and stared at his lap while he waited for his grandpa’s judgement. He was too scared to look up in case he’d deeply offended Jacob who was already in a bad mood.

  But to Leander’s surprise, Jacob let out a soft chuckle. “Well isn’t today full of surprises.”

  “I hope this one isn’t a bad one,” Leander said and dared to look back up, biting at his lip.

  “No, Leander,” Jacob said and reached out, wrapping an arm around Leander’s shoulders and pulling him close. “I’ll have to think about this though.”

  “I understand,” Leander said, snuggling against his grandpa’s side and letting some of the tension fade under the loving embrace. “The reason I’m bringing this up is because of what I said downstairs about ‘taking care of it’. I want to take the lead in repairing whatever damage has been done between our family and Marius-khan’s.”

  “You’re really serious about all this, aren’t you?”

  “Extremely,” Leander replied. He still w
asn’t entirely sure if now was the right time to express his desire to be successor, or if he was ready to take on a situation that a Shar usually would handle, but he knew it was what he wanted. Nothing else fueled that ambitious side of him like the idea of being Shar did.

  “Good,” Jacob replied and rubbed the side of Leander’s shoulder affectionately. “I’ll think about it tonight once I’ve calmed down more, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “But no matter what I’m still giving Lazarus a good talking to. His actions today were completely unacceptable and I don’t think you can yell at him the way he needs to be yelled at.”

  “No, probably not,” Leander agreed. He didn’t really want his father to be yelled at, but he wasn’t going to argue with his Shar, especially when he didn’t know all the details of what his father did. He could deal with the aftermath in his own way if Jacob let him.

  Jacob gave his forehead a quick kiss then pulled away. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

  “Yes, grandpa.”

  Jacob headed out of the room and Leander sent a quick prayer to his father, hoping he’d be alright after Jacob tore a strip off him. It was doubtful Leander and Simon would be able to comfort him tonight.

  “Leander?”

  Leander looked to the doorway and smiled as he saw Simon standing there. “Simon! Come over here.”

  Simon nodded and made his way over to Leander’s bed and took a seat, leaving a respectable distance between them as always.

  “Sorry for suddenly abandoning you down there,” Leander said, his smile turning apologetic.

  “It’s fine,” Simon said though he hardly looked fine. His eyes were just a bit too wide still, reminding Leander of prey caught in a trap. “May I ask what you were talking to grandpa about?”

  Leander tensed. Part of him was eager to tell Simon of his plans, but the other part was terrified. What if Simon thought him foolish for thinking he was the logical choice for Shar? Or conceited? Leander knew he’d be beyond devastated if his brother didn’t support him.

  “You don’t have to tell me if it’s that private,” Simon offered after Leander hesitated for a bit too long.

  “Do you not want me to tell you?” Leander asked. He knew he was stalling. Of course Simon would want to know.

  Simon cocked an eyebrow. “Do you seriously believe I wouldn’t want to know?”

  Leander couldn’t help but smile a little at the expected response. “No,” he said then took a shaky breath, hoping his fears were totally unwarranted. “I was talking to grandpa about who should be his successor. I want it to be me.”

  Simon’s already wide eyes went even wider.

  “Is that alright?” Leander asked, trying to read Simon’s expression. He was surprised, that was for sure, but there was something strange about his look as well that Leander couldn’t make sense of.

  “Yes. Very much yes,” Simon said, starting to smile. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

  “I hadn’t been thinking about it seriously for that long and I was worried you would think me foolish for wanting it.”

  “How is it foolish?”

  “Because I can be shy and meek and not near as commanding as you.”

  Simon smirked. “You can be very commanding when you want to be. You’ve had plenty of practice ordering me around, that’s for sure,” he added teasingly.

  Leander giggled and looked down. “I suppose that’s true.”

  “What did grandpa say?”

  “He said he wants to think about it, he’s a little too worked up tonight to answer me properly. I also asked if I could take charge of clearing up this matter between father and Marius-khan. Again, he said he has to think about it.”

  “Did he seem open to the idea?”

  “I think so. I hope so,” Leander said then turned to face Simon. “I really want this, Simon. I believe I’d make the best Shar for our family when grandpa steps down. I just… I want to take care of this house and everyone in it and help our family realize all their dreams. I think taking care of you more these past two years has really made me realize that this is what I want. I love school, don’t get me wrong, but these last two summers, while I’ve been at home and you at work, I feel satisfied in a way I can’t really describe. It feels right.”

  Simon just stared at him for a moment, again with that strange, unreadable expression.

  “What is it? What are you thinking?” Leander asked, frustrated that he didn’t just instinctually know.

  Simon got up off the bed then went down on one knee in front of Leander on the floor, bowing his head in deference. “I vow to you, and all the gods above, that I will only accept you, Leander Kane, as our next Shar, and will only answer to you after our grandfather.”

  Leander swallowed hard as he stared down at his brother before him. His gut was whispering all sorts of things to him and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to hear any of it. He already knew that Simon’s loyalty to him was completely unwavering, but there was something about Simon kneeling to him that was unnerving. He thought of what Alexei had said to them the first evening they went out, about them looking like a couple of mafia princes, and Leander couldn’t help but wonder just how far Simon would go for him if he but asked.

  Simon looked back up at him. “Have I gone too far?”

  “No,” Leander immediately replied. “For I vow to you, and all the gods above, that I will continue to support and care for you, even if Shardom isn’t in my future. And right now that means getting Alexei back to you.”

  “To us,” Simon corrected him.

  Leander smiled and nodded. “Yes, to us. Now get back up here.”

  Simon nodded back to him and got back up on the bed. “Forgive me for being so rattled over the dinner disaster. I promise I’ll sort myself out.”

  “It’s fine, Simon. The whole situation was bizarre and sudden. I also think it’s sweet how worried you are about Alexei being taken away.”

  Simon looked off, clearly blushing. “He means a great deal to me, even if we are still only getting to know each other.”

  “I know, Simon, I feel the same. Alexei is ours and I will fight tooth and nail to make sure our families are friendly once more. I just wish I could go talk to father and find out what exactly happened, but I don’t think grandpa will let me near him tonight. He seemed very keen on punishing him.”

  Simon winced. “Poor father. I’ve never seen grandpa look so furious.”

  “Me either. Gods, I hope we never upset him like that.”

  Simon nodded a little, going a bit pale.

  “I highly doubt you would ever do anything to make grandpa that furious, Simon,” Leander said, trying to console his clearly uneasy twin.

  “You can’t know the future.”

  “Well I can’t speak for grandpa, but I can promise that I won’t ever be that furious with you.”

  Simon smirked, his dark eyes looking downright haunted. “You can’t promise that either.”

  Leander knew he wasn’t about to win this conversation. He wasn’t sure why, but every now and then Simon got into these dark moods and it was very difficult to pull him out of it. Most of the time Simon shut himself up in their grandpa’s room, forcing Leander to wait it out, but he just did that recently, so wasn’t it a bit soon for him to fall back into that darkness again? Gods, why wouldn’t Simon just tell him what was going on? What was this stupid secret that he refused to tell Leander about?

  “Perhaps we should get out of the house for a little bit. We can go window shopping downtown,” Leander offered, forcing himself to calm down and stop thinking about Simon’s secret. Now was not the time to fight with his twin.

  Simon shook his head. “I know you’ll want to stay home and be close to the family considering everything that happened tonight.”

  “I won’t be able to do anything useful tonight though. Father is being punished, grandpa is in a mood, and Amos and Jamie are probably comforting each other. What I want is to mak
e you feel better right now.”

  “But you hate going out.”

  “Not if you’re with me. Wouldn’t it make you feel better to get some air?”

  Simon shrugged. “I don’t know. Perhaps.”

  “Then let’s go. We’ll leave a note for grandpa in the kitchen,” Leander said then stood and gathered his things.

  Simon followed him silently down to the kitchen where they left a note on their family whiteboard as promised then put their shoes and coats on and headed out.

  Leander, as usual, remained close to Simon as they walked. He didn’t much care for going out, it was true, but he felt safe with Simon at his side, and he would do anything to make his brother feel better, even if it meant putting himself through some discomfort.

  “We won’t stay out long,” Simon said to him.

  “We can stay out as long as you need. I’m fine, Simon, I promise. I wouldn’t have offered to go out if I wasn’t up to it, you know that.”

  “I’ve been relying on you too much.”

  A white hot flame of protective anger flared up inside of Leander and he grabbed Simon’s shoulder firmly, forcing him to stop walking. “Don’t ever say that. You can rely on me for anything and everything, just as I know I can rely on you. Did you not hear me earlier? I intend to be Shar.”

  “I know, I just don’t feel good when things aren’t even between us. What can I do for you in return for helping me so much recently?” Simon asked.

  “You can start by not worrying so much about it. I will need you soon enough I’m sure, I usually do,” Leander said then smirked. “I need you right now just to leave the house.”

  “Which you wouldn’t need to leave at all if I wasn’t so pathetic right now.”

  “Stop it!” Leander exclaimed, glaring at his twin. He didn’t mean to be so angry, but he hated that Simon seemed to think that Leander shouldn’t be taking care of him, especially when taking care of Simon was one of the most important things to him. “Stop being like this. Do you really think it’s pathetic to need me? Is it such a horrible thing to need the support of your brother? Your best friend?”