Always Ivette – Sydney Winward

The fields are green. Meet me in the place where the branches lean. Her pulse raced as she threw her apron onto the back of a kitchen chair and smoothed down the flyaways of her hair. She stopped for a moment to listen as her sisters laughed and screeched and argued, their voices muffled by the doors down the hallway. No one would notice if she slipped away for a bit…would they? Oh, who was she kidding? They would notice.

And they’d know exactly where she’d gone. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. Because for years, she had looked after their happiness and their well-being. Perhaps it was now time to look after her own. Smoothing down her clothing one last time, she stepped outside into the darkness and closed the door quietly behind her.

She glanced around, noting the dark silhouette of the trees, the fade of blue in the sky where the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the specks of white dotting the lower field where the sheep grazed. Where do the branches lean? she asked herself while surveying the landscape. In the orchard, the apple tree branches leaned a bit too close together, as she hadn’t found the time to prune them this year.

Chunks of wood rested under a large cloth in the shed. The tree on the hill— A nervous excitement alighted in her chest when she recalled the large branches they’d collected from the upper field after a storm had ripped them from the trees. They’d leaned the branches against one of the larger trees near the cliffside to take care of them later.

She forced herself into a steady gait as she climbed the hill toward the tree in question. Her heart squeezed anxiously when she spotted Ben leaning casually against the trunk, his arms crossed in an easygoing manner. He wore his white shirt tucked into his dark, fitted trousers, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the first two buttons unfastened to reveal the dip of his chest.

I can’t do this, she told herself as panic spurred her heart faster. She didn’t know what this was, but it terrified her. It made her want to simultaneously crumple into a heated puddle and flee back down the hill. But then he set her at ease with a soft smile and friendly eyes. Her heart calmed. Her body relaxed. And the previous excitement returned when she realized it was just Ben.

The same Ben she had dragged unconscious behind a horse.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. Always, Ivette COPYRIGHT © 2023 Sydney Winward Cover art by LLewellenDesigns.com Interior art by @aquaart3153 Published by Silver Forge Books All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Paperback 978-1-960461-01-8 http://www.sydneywinward.com 1kitap1.com/en 1kitap1.com/en To all the fairy tales I read as a child 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen THANK YOU STAY CONNECTED BOOKS BY SYDNEY WINWARD ABOUT THE AUTHOR 1kitap1.com/en ON ONE’S BIRTHDAY, one should be celebrating, not scouring the countryside in the middle of a blistering storm with no sign of civilization within several leagues.

Alone and soaked to the bone with nothing but his horse and his own mind to keep him company. Barnaby Mavis scowled at the sprawling green fields where the Danvers residence was supposed to reside. But nothing stood out aside from tall trees, long fields, and a cluster of sheep huddled together for warmth as rain tumbled down from gray clouds. Seething through his teeth, he mumbled to himself, “Where there are sheep, there must be a master.” He clicked his tongue, and his mount obeyed the order to continue forward along the slick grass, whipping its tail in agitation at having to travel through the storm.

“You and me both.” He patted the horse’s shoulder to try to calm him. But he recognized the way the creature straddled the fine edge of calm and terror. They would seek shelter in the nearby town of Avorstead. As soon as this blasted deal was over and done with. Prince Sterling had tasked him with paying back every coin he’d unknowingly swindled from desperate folks in the form of loans.

The loans had been legal. But the interest rates had been far too high after the cap on the rate amidst the economic crash in Edilann.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: bba00c4a1eb12576
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,126,512 bytes (2.028 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781960461018
• Pages: 160
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 254.49 minutes
• Total Words: 50,897
• Total Characters: 280,832
• Average Words per Page: 318.11
• Average Characters per Page: 1755.2

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