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Meadowfall Firefighters Box Set: Books 1-4 Wineheart full chapter instant download
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1-4 Wineheart
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MEADOWFALL FIREFIGHTERS BOX SET
BOOKS 1-4
ANNA WINEHEART
CONTENTS
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination
or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express
written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
These novels contain graphic sexual content between two (or more) men. Intended for mature readers only.
Content Warnings
Burning For My Prince: Past domestic violence, Past emotional abuse, Violence
Gareth’s Boy: Past child abuse/neglect, Past car accident, Past failed abortion, Grief, Brief dubcon play, Some gore, A brief almost-
drowning, Blackmail, Gun innuendoes
Secrets in the Snow: past domestic violence, brief on-page torture, mild dubcon (handjob, consent given after), violence
Alpha in Heat: On-page torture, past torture, past human experimentation, past organ transplant/additions, past lover suicide, self-harm
ideation, consensual dubcon-play, some violence
To all of you out there:
Links!
Plus, sign up for Anna’s newsletter and catch super sneak previews at Anna’s Wine Shack (Anna’s
reader group).
Bookbub | Goodreads
BURNING FOR MY PRINCE
What happens when your baby's daddy crashes naked through your bathroom ceiling... and into
your life?
A long time ago, York Davis made an online friend, and fell in love with him. Unbeknownst to York,
FrogPrince100 was also a college professor. When they met to sate Prince's heat, Prince conceived.
The very next day, Prince disappeared from York's life, shattering his heart.
Five years ago, Perry Larkin did something he shouldn't: he gave in to his desires and slept with his
crush. The very first alpha to make him feel safe after much violent abuse from his exes. Thing was,
York was sixteen years younger than Perry. To hide his identity, Perry wore a mask to their first and
only meeting. Then, crippled by guilt, he left, taking their unborn child with him.
Fast forward to today: York is a firefighter who has sworn off love. Except his nervous new neighbor,
Perry Larkin? He smells familiar. Perry feels familiar. York has no clue what FrogPrince looked like,
but Perry can't be him. And York shouldn't want Perry in his bed, all day, every day. He shouldn't
want to screw Perry into next week.
Besides, Perry has a four-year-old son who can't be York's, because Prince had been on birth control
that night... right?
1
PERRY
MEADOWFALL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
“WHAT ’ S IN THAT BOX , DADDY?” Four-year-old Caleb peeked around the coffee table, wriggling his
little toes. “Is it a present?”
Perry Larkin bit his tongue, warmth prickling his cheeks. I should’ve known he’d ask that. “No, hon.
It’s for me. It’s, ah, work. Boring adult stuff.”
Caleb peered at the cardboard box, his green eyes large through his glasses. Sometimes, Perry felt as
though Caleb could see through his lies. “Oh,” Caleb said. “Can I see?”
His heart melting with fondness, Perry enveloped his son in a tackle-hug. Caleb squealed. “Maybe
when you get older,” Perry said.
Or maybe never, because that was an invention no one should ever get their hands on.
It wasn’t just any ordinary machine. It wasn’t just some finely-tuned, pre-programmed piece of
equipment.
It was a ten-thousand-dollar invention, one that Perry had painstakingly worked on for the past few
years, one that was almost complete. It was a robotic platform encased in plastic and then silicone,
designed to caress Perry’s most intimate parts.
While the other Meadowfall College professors had been working on their precious research, Perry
had been tinkering away at the perfect ‘alpha’ he would spend his heats with. It would touch him
between his legs, it would open him up, and fill him the way an alpha would.
It would caress him. It would treat him with kindness, and while it didn’t have any words for him, it
would be warm, someplace he could go and just... lose himself. And everything would still be okay.
Perry blinked himself back, glancing at his watch. It was past Caleb’s bedtime. They’d been out
grocery shopping, and they’d gotten home late. Perry winced. “Sorry. Let’s get you ready for bed,
shall we?”
He hauled Caleb to his feet, walking with his son to the en-suite bathroom in his bedroom. The
apartment had creaky windows and uneven floors, but for the past five years of his life, it had been
home.
In the bathroom, Perry brushed Caleb’s teeth, then got him dressed for bed. They read a bedtime story
together—Caleb’s favorite, with the two moon bunnies. Caleb fell asleep halfway through, his glasses
knocking askew when he leaned into Perry’s side.
Perry tucked him into bed, then kissed his forehead, marveling at the tiny human being that was his
son.
Caleb never failed to fill Perry with awe. He was a gift. Not because his alpha dad had knowingly
given him to Perry, but because Caleb was so full of love. If Caleb’s other dad ever found out he
existed... Perry shuddered.
More than anything, the thought of an angry alpha twisted Perry’s stomach.
Perry had lied to York that he was on birth control, when they’d had sex that one time. Lying was a
terrible thing. But Perry had justified it by swearing that York would never find out about the child.
Perry didn’t need child support. He’d wanted a baby, no strings attached. That required an alpha. And
York Davis had been an online friend Perry had gotten a little too close to.
Gods, if York ever found out... Perry breathed out his anxiety. It wasn’t going to happen.
Caleb had Perry’s looks. Unlike York’s brown hair, Caleb’s curls were far darker, closer to black,
and his eyes had grown a beautiful shade of green, kind of like Perry’s. But the thing that made Perry
certain this would always be a secret?
On that night, Perry had worn a cartoon frog mask. York had winced when they’d met at the coffee
shop down the road, but he hadn’t protested too much.
The only way York would recognize Perry was if he saw the scars and tattoo on Perry’s body, but that
had a less-than-one-percent chance of happening.
So things would be okay. York would never find out. Perry wasn’t strutting on the streets in his
birthday suit.
Perry exhaled, willing his heart to slow. He made sure Caleb was still sleeping, then shut the door
quietly and slipped into his own bedroom, powering on his laptop.
York had updated his YouTube channel. Twenty minutes ago, he’d uploaded a new video about Frog
Island, a survival game that they’d both been playing for years. It was how Perry had found York, and
how Perry continued to admire York from afar.
Perry clicked on the video, his heart skipping a beat when that alpha’s face showed up at the bottom-
right corner of his screen. York Davis was handsome—very much so. Sapphire-blue eyes, strong jaw,
brown hair that was delightfully mussed.
Years back, they’d chatted about everything under the sun; favorite foods, favorite games, game
updates. Every afternoon, York would ask how Perry’s day had gone. Perry would tease him about
school, and York would retort that he was not young, that he was growing up into a big, strong alpha.
Perry had found himself looking forward to waking up, to seeing the pictures of cars and random
things that York sent him every day. He loved hearing about the food York made with his dad, he
loved hearing York get all excited over the latest Frog Island merchandise.
These days, it wasn’t so much the game that Perry was interested in, but York’s emotional reactions to
it. York laughing when the game glitched on him, York staring in absolute horror when a new boss
monster trashed his massive home base. York all triumphant when he finally figured out how to take
the new boss down.
He’s probably found an omega by now, Perry thought with a pang. Then he had to remind himself that
he wasn’t looking for an alpha.
“Hey, guys,” York said on the video, his voice slightly tinny. “Sorry about the lack of updates. I
graduated last month and started work at my local fire department. Plus I moved into my own
place, so I’m kinda scrambling to get everything together.”
It seemed like everyone was moving. Things had been crashing and bumping around in the apartment
downstairs, but the occupant was otherwise very quiet. He had a booming laugh, though. Perry
could’ve sworn it sounded like York. Then again, almost everything reminded him of York.
It didn’t help that he’d never really lost his crush on that alpha. Perry had thought of York as a younger
brother, until he’d hit eighteen. Then York’s muscles had filled out, his alpha body maturing, and
Perry’s thoughts had dipped into the gutter far too many times.
But unlike the alphas Perry had grown up with, he’d known York first as a friend. York had never
once treated Perry with contempt, or violence. It was precisely because of that, that Perry’s guard
slipped. And he’d begun to like York in ways he shouldn’t. He’d wanted to spend time with York in
person, he’d wanted to know what York smelled like. Tasted like.
Feeling dirty and ashamed of himself, Perry had never confessed. Then York had enrolled in
Meadowfall College, and Perry had lied and said he’d quit teaching, just so York wouldn’t try to meet
up with him.
Except... Perry had wanted a baby. And he’d been beaten by far too many alphas to even consider
starting anything with York. Just one night—that had been all he’d allowed himself.
So Perry had decided on the frog mask, and after that night, he’d completely removed his online
presence from York’s life.
“Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy this week’s episode—the Zombie Frogs update has been incredible,”
York continued on the video, his lips twitching into a smile.
Gods, he was handsome. And he did look tired. His eyes were bloodshot, his jaw lightly stubbled.
Perry licked his lips, leaning closer.
Then York stretched his arms above his head, his muscles bunching, his T-shirt sleeves slipping down
to reveal bare biceps, shallow grooves running down his skin—all muscle beneath. So much of it.
Perry’s blood swooped between his legs. He groaned, looking away. He shouldn’t keep watching. But
York rolled his shoulders, his muscles flexing, his lips full and sweet.
Let me kiss you, York had said that night. Just once.
York had folded up the bottom half of the frog mask, and his lips had been hot on Perry’s, his tongue
sliding into Perry’s mouth, claiming him inside like how his cock had claimed Perry’s hole.
Perry trembled now, watching York’s face. He needed to erase his arousal before he ended up jerking
off to York’s video. That would be terrible. York was sixteen years younger than him. And Perry was
thirty-eight now.
He paused the video and stumbled to the bedroom door, his pants uncomfortably tight.
In the tub, the device rattled around a little. Perry made a mental note to add rubber feet to it, palming
his cock through his pants.
Secretly, he’d nicknamed the machine The Boyfriend. Translucent white silicone covered every
exposed surface, wrapped snugly around clear plastic and a steel frame. On the front end of the
saddle, an acrylic tube formed a contractible tunnel. Inches away, a white dildo rose out of The
Boyfriend, the most beautiful alpha cock Perry had been able to mold.
Rather, it was what he remembered of York’s cock, but no one had to know that.
Perry’s mouth went dry. He shed his clothes, grabbed a bottle of lube, and stepped into the bathtub.
The tub creaked beneath his feet. Perry frowned, looking down.
The tub had creaked a few times before, though never this loudly. When it stayed quiet, Perry drew
the shower curtain shut, then turned the water on warm, rinsing the silicone. Some of the shower spray
splashed onto his chest, a warm touch trickling down his skin.
He stared at himself, half-embarrassed by his flushed, straining cock, and the precome that had
already begun to drip down his length. Gods, he needed someone to pin him down, someone to fuck
good and hard into him, touch him inside. He wanted to writhe in pleasure, he wanted to be
thoroughly claimed.
Perry gulped, his heart thudding. He turned the water off, squirted some clear lube onto his fingers,
and straddled The Boyfriend, slicking up the inside of the silicone tube. Then he angled his cock
down, pushing it into the tunnel.
With lubrication, the silicone slid easily around his sensitive skin. The presence of his cock turned
The Boyfriend on; its motors began to whir. The tunnel tightened around Perry’s cock, the barest touch
to test its boundaries. Pleasure shot down his nerves.
Perry braced his weight on his hands and knees, pushing his cock completely into the tunnel. It pulled
his foreskin down so his sensitive tip grazed the silicone. Then, as the machine learned his
movements, it began to respond, dragging its grip down his cock, then back up, squeezing around
Perry’s tip.
Perry moaned, leaking onto The Boyfriend. Short of an actual human, this was good. He’d
programmed some artificial intelligence into it, so he never knew how tightly it would hold him, or
how fast it would jerk his cock.
Perry grasped the dildo, then rocked back, letting its blunt tip nudge between his asscheeks. He
remembered that night with York, York probing at his hole, his cock thick, hot, eager to slide inside
Perry’s ass.
Perry’s breath rushed out of him. He leaked onto the dildo, groaning at its size. It felt bigger than he
expected, like York’s cock had been. He bit his lip and sank down, panting when it impaled his body,
forcing his hole to open around its thickness.
The sensors in the dildo registered his presence; The Boyfriend began to fuck into him. Perry
shuddered in bliss, his hole squeezing. That made The Boyfriend push deeper, the silicone beneath
him warming the longer the machine stayed on.
It wasn’t quite like being touched, but it was... good enough, Perry supposed. He needed a warm chest
at his back, he needed to be held, but a body-length machine was far too heavy for him to transport
between work and home.
And The Boyfriend... It wasn’t going deep enough. It wasn’t rough enough. When Perry had been
building it, he’d been afraid to program it to go any faster, because the movements had looked violent.
On a subconscious level, he knew that was what he wanted. He had confidence in The Boyfriend. But
somehow, he’d been afraid of the machine hurting him when he least expected it, like all those
previous alphas. So he’d set a lower limit. And now he didn’t have what he needed to come.
Perry bit his lip, rocking himself down onto the dildo, taking it entirely. His cock begged for release,
all dark red and thick. His knees ached against the cool tub. He grasped the edge of the tub and
shoved himself downward.
Something groaned. Perry figured it was the machine grinding against the bathtub.
He thought about York’s smile, and his cock pulsed. His balls pulled tight. He needed more before he
could reach the edge. He needed that dildo deeper inside him, he needed it fucking him like a crazed
animal.
And he wished he wasn’t kneeling in his tub, with only a silicone-clad machine for company. He still
needed an actual alpha inside, an alpha holding him. That realization made his heart sink, even as his
pleasure spiraled higher and higher, his balls heavy with his come.
Perry grasped the base of his fuck-machine and shoved himself down. The bathtub creaked, then
bellowed.
Then it crashed through the floor, sending Perry tumbling forward as a dark hole opened beneath him.
He screamed.
2
YORK
YORK TRUDGED INTO HIS APARTMENT , allowing the door to click shut behind him. Home, even a
barely-anything apartment with half his stuff still in moving boxes, had never felt so good.
His body twinged with exhaustion. Over the past few weeks, the alphas at the fire station had slowly
increased the duration of his shifts—first twelve hours, then eighteen, and today had been his first-
ever twenty-four-hour shift.
After two back-to-back calls, scrubbing down the fire trucks, helping to conduct a fire safety class for
the public, and even more calls, he was just about ready to collapse into bed, and sleep through his
next two days off. It was a wonder how the other firefighters did it, but they’d been at this far longer
than him.
He shrugged out of his clothes, stepping into the tub. Glanced warily at the ceiling above. The plaster
was dark with water stains, but at least it wasn’t leaking right now.
The landlord had promised to take a look at the water damage tomorrow—soon enough, York
supposed. As long as the ceiling didn’t crash onto him.
He showered, dried off, and felt too awake to fall asleep just yet. So he sat at his desk and did the
recording for his next Frog Island video. Just as well, since there was a new game update. York had
been waiting eagerly for it for the past few months.
It was comforting, retreating into the survival game. It was something familiar. Something he could do
by himself and not feel alone.
Unlike being at his dad’s place, with his dad’s two alphas and Lenna, York’s two-year-old half-sister.
At first, York had protested the relationship, because of how awkward it was. His dad had been
seeing two alphas, both of them York’s classmates. Then York had grown comfortable with Spike and
Kai dating his dad, and he’d even given his dad away at the wedding.
But living around those guys, seeing his dad with his alphas around him all the time, seeing his dad so
unbelievably happy... It had made York feel awkward. Out of place. Like he didn’t belong there
anymore, not when his dad had made a new family for himself.
So York had moved into his own apartment, and the weight on his shoulders had lifted. Somewhat.
Now the apartment felt too quiet with no one around.
Maybe York was broken. All his life, he’d lived with his dad, looking out for him, protecting him.
Without his dad, York needed someone else to care for. He didn’t exactly know the people he’d saved
on duty.
But York had also witnessed his dad’s heart breaking, he remembered his dad crying when he
couldn’t attract an alpha. Worse, he’d had his own heart ripped apart. He had no intention of seeking
out an omega.
Maybe he needed more friends. A roommate. Someone who wasn’t FrogPrince100 teasing him on
chat. Someone who wasn’t an omega who had taught at Meadowfall College, who wasn’t an omega
wearing a frog mask at a coffee shop.
I’m in heat, FrogPrince had said years ago. If you don’t mind, would you like to spend the night
with me?
Yeah, sure, York had answered, and his heart had almost thumped out of his chest.
On one condition, FrogPrince had said. I’ll wear a mask. I’m not comfortable with you seeing my
face.
And that bastard had shown up at the coffee shop wearing a damn frog mask. Of all things.
Gods, just thinking about FrogPrince... York breathed out the tightness in his chest. It had been years
since that omega had said, I’ll see you online later, and he’d completely disappeared from York’s
life.
At first, York had thought FrogPrince had met with an accident. He’d tried to contact that omega. He’d
said at the start of each video, Prince, if you’re out there watching this, tell me something bad
hasn’t happened to you.
No one had said anything, until York had thrown a fit two weeks later, and someone had left an
anonymous comment on his video. I’m fine. Move on. -FP
York would’ve dismissed it as a troll comment, except the person had also included two emoji—a
frog face, and a person wearing a dental mask. No one else could’ve known about that.
Which meant that FrogPrince was alive, it meant that he’d left York, and holy hell, York had felt
utterly betrayed. And played.
He’d scoured the town for that tulip scent. But FrogPrince wasn’t the only one with a tulip scent. York
had found far too many dead ends, and after the twentieth omega who looked at him strange, York had
sworn never to fall in love again.
That was easy enough to do, because he’d stopped chatting online with omegas, he’d stopped asking
about anyone’s day, or sending them kitten pictures to cheer them up.
He’d stopped looking up recipes when anyone asked, he’d stopped sending photos of cookies, he’d
stopped offering to take anyone out to dinner.
York had been so blindly in love, that it hadn’t occurred to him that he was, until his heart had
shattered.
In the months after, he’d shut down completely. His dad had asked, except York hadn’t wanted to talk
about it. There wasn’t a point, anyway. And in the years following, York had recovered somewhat.
He finished editing the video, hit Upload on YouTube, then went to bed. Tried not to think about that
night. FrogPrince panting against him, his breaths puffing loudly behind his mask, the heavy musk of
his arousal filling York’s lungs. His chest had heaved, his hands trembling, and York had gone into a
rut.
York still remembered the sleek lines of FrogPrince’s body, the gears tattooed on the small of his
back. He remembered the way FrogPrince had moaned into his mouth, his cock thick and leaking, his
body so damn tight.
York had been planning on asking Prince to be his boyfriend the next day, except, well.
There was no point thinking about it. He was never going to forgive that bastard.
York scrubbed his face, breathing out. “Shut up,” he told himself. “Time to move on.”
He turned off the computer screen and the lights, lying in bed. Tried to sleep. Instead, he thought about
an omega with a frog mask.
York wasn’t sure how long he’d been awake when something crashed in his apartment, far too loudly.
He bolted upright, straining his ears.
Then someone screamed—it sounded like it came from right outside his bedroom. What the hell?
York threw off his sheets. Flung open his door. The screaming came louder now.
“Bath—Bath...” The voice tapered into a low whimpering, and York’s heart squeezed.
He turned on the lights in the master bedroom—cardboard boxes littered the place. He strode into the
bathroom. Flicked on the lights.
Right above York’s bathtub, part of the ceiling had caved in. Another tub slanted precariously into his
bathroom, a pale face with dark, wet hair peeking over the edge of the tub.
Then his gaze focused on York, and he froze, his eyes growing wide. He scrambled backward,
whining when the tub began to tip further into the bathroom.
The man scrambled harder, tiny, panicked squeaks falling from his lips.
York grimaced. “I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said, grabbing the bottom of the tub to try and support its
weight. Damn, it was heavier than he thought. “But if you move, it’s gonna completely fall through.
Maybe it’ll take out my tub and go down another floor.”
The man froze. His chest heaved. He stared at York, green eyes raking down York’s face.
“I need to get you out of there,” York told him. There was barely space between the lip of the tub and
the ceiling—enough for a small person to squeeze through. “Can you climb down?”
The man shook his head vigorously. “Just—Just push the tub back up. I’ll go home.”
York sighed. “I’m not that strong.” The jagged edges of the floor dug painfully into his palm. “Get
down here before it crashes. Here, let me grab you.”
Panic flashed through the man’s eyes. But the tub creaked ominously, slanting further into the
bathroom. A wooden beam snapped. The bathtub jerked down, and the man screamed.
“C’mon, let’s get you out of there.” York reached in, grabbed the man under his arms, and hauled him
out of the tub. Set him on his feet.
He wasn’t so heavy. And he was completely naked, wet, and he smelled like tulip and musk.
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Mutta vaikka näin nyt levollisena palaankin tältä matkalta, joka on
pitkä ja vaivalloinen ja josta toivoin hauskaa vaihtelua, ei se ajatus,
että tarvitset kostoa, päästä minua. Jonkun rangaistuksen sinä
tarvitset, — sillä minä todella pidin sinusta, — enemmän kuin
kenestäkään muista kosijoistani, ja juuri sen vuoksi sinun tarvitsee
saada muistutus, että olet Ellin kanssa ollut kihloissa. Olen miettinyt
monenlaista kostoa, semmoista, joka olisi hyvin lähellä sydäntäsi.
Jos minulla olisi enemmän aikaa, niin tietäisin kyllä keinon, — jonka
jälkeen tapaisit vaaleakutrisen Annasi vähemmän häikäisevän
kauniina. Se olisi sinulle hyvä isku ja muistuttaisi joka hetki, että
minäkin olen ollut olemassa…
11.
Anna ei ollut tavannut neiti Elliä muuta kuin aamulla, jolloin saattoi
hänet ullakkokamariin. Siinä olikin ollut kylliksi. Kauheaa, miten
nuoren tytön silmät saattoivat niin salamoida! Annalle teki vieläkin
pahaa Ellin katsanto. Hänen silmänsä olivat ensinnä näyttäneet
sinisiltä, mutta kun Elli kääntyi Annaa katsomaan heidän
noustessaan ullakolle, välähti niissä vihreää, joka säihkyi kuin tuli…
ja suupielet vetäytyivät kahteen käyrään, vihaiseen ryppyyn…
Annaa oli melkein pelottanut, ja kun hän nyt niiden silmien välkettä
muisti, vapisi mieli…
»Ei ole mitään hätää. Huvikseen lähtenyt on, sen hyvin arvaan»,
puheli vanha Erkki. Jumala hänestä pitää huolen. Hän näkee
kirkkautta ja näkee Jumalan valkeuden ja ihmetyöt luonnossa,
kesäyössä, mutta kyllä hän vielä löytää iäisen valkeuden omasta
sydämestään — Herran valkeuden, joka on kaikkia muita kirkkaampi
ja johdattaa meitä iankaikkisuuden kesäyöhön.»
Vanhus huokasi.
Hän tunsi sen Ellin hatuksi ja arvasi, että Elli oli pitkästynyt
vartomaan Marttia — ja ehkä oli jo paluumatkalla.
Kun hän joutui siihen paikkaan, jossa taannoin oli Martin kanssa
levähtänyt, pysähtyi hän ikäänkuin uusia voimia kootakseen. Ei hän
vieläkään ollut mistään varma eikä osannut uskoa sitä eikä tätä. Yksi
asia vain oli selvänä ja kuumana hänen mielessään: löytää Martti…
elävänä tai kuolleena.
Silloin hän huomasi aivan selkänsä takana juuresta oksattoman
männyn kyljessä vasta piirretyn nimen ANNA. Sen oli Martti tehnyt,
kuten näkyi kirjaimien taiteellisesta muodosta. Martti oli siis tätä tietä
mennyt, häntä muistanut ja levätessä hänen nimensä mäntyyn
piirtänyt!
Martti! Martti!
Hänen teki mieli jo huutaa Marttia. Ilta oli tyven, ääni kantaisi
kauas korpien ja jänkkien poikki. Mutta hän oli vielä alhaalla
laaksossa, eikä ääni sieltä koskaan kuuluisi niinkuin vaaran laelta.
Silloin hän muutti matkansa suuntaa ja läksi nousemaan suoraan
poikki pounikon Airijyppyrän lakea kohden. Ei hän malttanut kiertää
kaasikoita, vaan oikaisi menemään sieltä, mistä tiesi matkan
lyhimmäksi.
Siellä olivat ne hilloiset jänkät, joilta hän oli Martin kanssa käynyt
hilloja poimimassa. Sieltä oli Martti sukunimenkin ottanut.
»Martti hooi!»
Anna kuunteli.
»Martti hooi!»
Nythän oli pian juhannus; Pohjolan ihanin yö, valoisin hetki oli
käsissä!
Silloin Anna muisti hetken Haltiain kivellä. Muisti miten Martti piteli
hänen kättään… ja kuinka hänen valtimonsa rajusti löi…
Aavistiko Martti silloin, että hän sinä hetkenä oli unohtanut kaiken
muun? Miksi ei ollut Martti hänellekään virkkanut paostaan?
Anna ei saanut kysymyksiinsä vastausta, ja levottomana hän
saapui kesäkartanolle.
Anna oli tullut iloisemmaksi, olihan Martti nyt melkein käsissä, eikä
hän enää ollut surman suussa niinkuin Annakin oli peloissaan
ajatellut. Iloisesti keikkuivat metsät Annan ohi, ja iloisesti lauloivat
linnut. Nuori nurmi tuoksui, metsä lemusi, ja koko mittaamaton salo
hänen ympärillään iloitsi tänä vuoden kauneimpana yönä, jona valon
valta on herrana Pohjolassa.
»Martti Hoi!»
»Anna hoi!»
Eikä suuri erämaa eikä kolkko kiveliö koskaan hiisku siitä onnesta,
joka kaksi rakastavaa sydäntä toisiinsa sitoi. Sillä molemmat nuoret
olivat erämaan parhaita ystäviä, eikä kiveliö koskaan unohda
ystäviänsä silloin, kun sen oma suuri sydän sykkii ilosta vuoden
valoisimpana yönä.
12.
»On, on. Anna on aina ollut nöyrä ja notkea, enkä ymmärrä kuinka
olisin toimeen tullutkaan ilman häntä…»
»Kuinka niin?»
Ja hänestä tuntui, että koko talon oli raskas suru valloittanut ja että
aamukirkkaassa ilmassa leijaili murheen musta viitta.
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