Outplayed Read online

  Outplayed

  SHERWOOD OUTLAWS

  BOOK TWO

  Hayley Osborn

  LEXITY INK

  PUBLISHING

  Copyright © 2019 by Hayley Osborn

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Lexity Ink Publishing

  Christchurch, New Zealand

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Book Layout ©2017 BookDesignTemplates.com

  Cover Design by Covers by Combs

  Editing by Melissa A Craven

  Outplayed/ Hayley Osborn. -- 1st ed.

  ISBN 978-0-473-49488-9

  Also available in paperback

  For

  Jacob, Ashleigh and Zach

  Table of contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Want a free copy of the Sherwood Outlaws prequel novella?

  Acknowledgments

  About the author

  ONE

  I was lost.

  Not physically. Physically, I knew exactly where I was. I’d just taken an eight-hundred-year journey through time that had landed me, eventually, on the front doorstep of my family home. A place I never expected to see again. If I were honest, I couldn’t wait to see the faces on the other side of that door.

  The problem was, once I opened it, I would be a different kind of lost. Back in my own time, I no longer had a purpose. For the past month, I’d had a mission, a reason to get up every day. A legend to make. A cause to follow. Just surviving the day had never been a given. Here in the twenty-first century, none of those things applied anymore and I felt empty, as if I might just crumple up into myself like a crushed lemonade can.

  The late afternoon spring sunshine hit the top story of my red brick home. I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten here. To my house, that is. Tabitha had used her witchy magic to make it happen. We came through the portal at the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, I remembered that much. The next thing I knew, I was here. On the street where I grew up. Wearing the exquisite twelfth century gown of blue and white I’d started the day in, thanks to the hospitality of the Sheriff of Nottingham, and with a navy fur-lined cloak around my shoulders.

  I raised my hand and knocked on my door. It felt strange. I couldn’t remember ever having done that before. But, when I left for the twelfth century, I left my house keys at home. Knocking was the only way to announce my return to my family. My heart did a funny pitter-patter in my chest. I’d missed them all so much.

  I touched my hair, suddenly and stupidly nervous about my appearance. The past few hours had been trying—not just because of the trip through time—and my once stunning updo with flowers woven through the strands, now resembled more of a bird’s nest than a bun.

  The wooden front door swung open and there was no more time to worry. My little brother Josh stood on the other side, with Mom hovering a step behind. “Maryanne?” Mom whispered.

  Josh’s eyes narrowed into a squint.

  I’d spent many days wondering how they were doing, many nights dreaming of Josh missing me. Seeing them now was so much better than seeing them in my dreams. “Hey, bud. Hi, Mom.”

  “Maryanne?” Josh took an uncertain step forward.

  “Yeah, bud. It’s me.” I was trying to play it cool, but my voice rose in pitch as I spoke.

  “Oh my God!” He turned and yelled over his shoulder, “Dad, Maryanne’s home. The real Maryanne!” Then he jumped onto me, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist. “You’re back! Dad said we’d never see you again.”

  Maybe they wouldn’t have, had I been given the choice. Still, I wasn’t lying when I said, “It’s good to see you, Joshy.” I squeezed my arms around him, a giggle escaping my throat. I’d spent the last month wanting to feel his little hands around me. “Did you get taller?”

  He laughed. “I think so. Do you know what else?”

  I shook my head. He was blind, but he’d be able to feel the movement since he was still attached to me.

  “I can see some stuff again!”

  “No way!” I leaned back and glanced at Mom for confirmation. She was looking at me as if I were a ghost but managed a small nod. We’d been waiting two years for this to happen. I’d begun to think it might never. “What sort of stuff?”

  Josh shrugged. “Like outlines. Dark and light. That sort of thing. One day soon I might be able to see you again.” He gave my neck another squeeze, pulling me close.

  “I’d like that.” My greatest wish was for my brother to see again. I wanted him to be able to do all the things a normal nine-year-old did with his friends, like riding a bike or playing soccer.

  “Maryanne?” Dad peered around the corner, his voice incredulous and head shaking. Josh was right. Dad really hadn’t expected me to return. Not that I was surprised. What surprised me was how much it hurt to hear what I already knew. What sort of father would send their daughter away forever?

  His voice seemed to push Mom from her stupor. A grin spread from one ear to the other and she ran forward and wrapped a hug around both me and Josh, almost knocking me off my feet. “You’re back! Thank goodness.” She pulled away to stare at me. “Are you okay?” She looked different than she had a month ago. There was more grey lining her auburn hair, more wrinkles at the edges of her eyes and mouth.

  “I’m fine, Mom. It’s good to see you.” I pulled her back into our hug, inhaling the baking cookies and Gucci perfume smell that would always remind me of her.

  “And you, darling. And you.” She pulled back, flapping her hands and making everyone move. “Come inside, Maryanne. Are you hungry? Tired? What can I get you?”

  I followed her into the house, Josh still clinging to my hip, and shrugged. “Another hug?” The last time I’d seen Mom, I had no idea I wasn’t coming back. I hadn’t had the opportunity to hug her goodbye that morning, and I’d spent the last month wishing I could wrap myself around her.

  Mom hugged me again and hiccupped back a sob. I put Josh down and squeezed her as tightly as he’d squeezed me.

  “Give me that cloak.” She held out her hand. “As stunning as it is, it’s too hot to be wearing it inside.”

  I slipped it off and she placed it on the coat rack as if everyone stopping at her home shrugged off a fur-lined twelfth century cloak. She put her arm around my waist and led me through the kitchen and into the lounge.

  Carrie was watching TV. She glanced up as I entered, then returned to stare at the screen before looking at me again. “Maryanne?” I hadn’t even answered before she jumped to her feet and ran
to hug me. God, how had I thought I could stay away and never see these people again?

  Carrie stepped aside, her voice tentative. “I’m assuming you don’t know about our house guest?” She nodded her head toward the other side of the lounge, to a person sitting in my favorite chair, munching on popcorn.

  I smiled. I was fine with them having someone to stay, but for some reason Carrie spoke like she thought I wouldn’t be.

  I took a step toward the guest as she turned to look at me.

  I could have been looking in the mirror.

  The girl in my chair looked exactly like me.

  TWO

  “You weren’t supposed to come back.” They were Dad’s first words since I arrived other than my name, and it pissed me off. He was the one who’d sent me away, and he was upset because he hadn’t expected me back.

  “So, you found a replacement?” My tone was biting, and Dad stepped backward.

  He stared like he’d never seen me before. Or perhaps he was trying to remember my face before he forced me to leave again. No need. He had another face exactly like mine living under the same roof as him.

  “She found us, actually.” Mom stepped between us as if she could sense a shouting match brewing. She gave the other Maryanne an apologetic smile over her shoulder, which only riled me up further. Mom shouldn’t be apologizing to her. She should be apologizing to me. I was the one whose life was turned upside-down to repay a debt my father owed. I was the one who’d spent the last month never knowing whether I’d survive the day. I was the one who’d grown up in this house and who surely should be able to come home to it whenever I liked without someone replacing me. To top it all off, I was getting damned sick of discovering there were other people in the world who looked exactly like me.

  “And you couldn’t wait? Maybe see if I might find my way back?” I glared at Mom, knowing none of this was her fault. Dad was the one I should be glowering at, but he hovered behind her. Hiding, more like it.

  “It wasn’t like that, Maryanne. This will always be your home.” She took a tentative step toward me.

  Dad moved out from behind her. “Your mother…she didn’t deal well with…what happened to you.”

  That was okay by me. At least it meant someone had missed me. Unlike him, from what I could tell. “What happened to me? You say it like I could have avoided it. Newsflash, Dad. I tried. You ignored how I felt and what I wanted, and sent me back in time anyway.” All the anger I’d held inside for the past month spewed from my mouth, and I didn’t care. It didn’t matter that my words caused Dad to suck in a deep breath, or Mom to wipe tears from her eyes. It didn’t matter because it made me feel better. And I really needed to feel better right now. There was a huge empty hole inside me where Rob and his friends had been, because, as much as I’d once thought I wanted to return to my family, I’d made my choice to stay with Rob.

  Dad gave a half-hearted nod, agreeing. “Your mom called the police, went on TV, put up flyers, did everything she could to get you back.”

  I stared at him, shaking my head. “You didn’t tell her where I was?” That was taking the word bastard to a whole new level.

  “Oh, I told her. She just didn’t believe me.”

  I glanced at Mom. I’d always known about the time travel, and how it would be part of my future when I was older. Mom knew, too. Dad told her, the same way he’d told us kids.

  Mom shook her head. “I didn’t. Never had. Not really. I mean, it just never seemed possible. I went along with it because…because I love your father. But after he sent you away…” She shot him a look that would have turned a lesser man to stone. “I was certain, if I made enough noise, told enough people, someone would know where you were.” She reached out to touch my shoulder, then thought better of it, dropping her hand to her side. “I was right. The police found you for us.”

  “I’ve been gone a month!” My raised voice didn’t interrupt imposter-me’s TV-fest. She stuffed popcorn into her mouth, so relaxed it seemed as if this had been her home for longer than a few weeks. I might have considered she was the girl whose name I’d been constantly called for the past month had she not looked quite so at home in a modern environment.

  “You should have been gone longer. Didn’t you find a reason to stay?” Dad. He was a man of few words, but the ones he said cut right to the bone.

  “Oh, I found plenty of reasons to stay. Like a family who cared about me and who wanted me around.” I paused, letting that sink in. Whatever reaction I expected from Dad, I didn’t get. He just raised his chin and looked over my head. “Yet here I am, by some wicked twist of fate, back with the family who replaced me at a moment’s notice. To hear you say that I should have stayed away.” I deepened my voice into a bad imitation of him. “Welcome home, Maryanne. When will you be leaving?” Tears welled in my eyes as reality struck. Dad didn’t want me here. And given Mom had let him bring in a new me, she probably felt the same way. I’d thought I was alone those first few days in Sherwood Forest, but that was nothing to how I felt now. “I knew you hated me, Dad, but I never thought you’d be so cruel as to wish I’d stayed away.” My voice broke and the tears I’d tried to hold back, slipped down my cheeks.

  Dad took a half-step forward. “Sorry, love. I didn’t mean…that did sound cruel, I didn’t mean it to. I just meant, well, I really thought you belonged where I sent you. I thought you might have preferred to stay there.”

  “I’m not Marian!” I spat the words at him. I knew what he thought. I’d worked it out myself because he hadn’t bothered to share his theory with me before I left. More than sending me back in time to fix his mistake, he thought I belonged there. As Robin Hood’s Marian. For a second or two when I was with Rob, I’d wondered the same. Then I was suddenly back here, and all those thoughts dried up. Unlike my feelings for him.

  Dad’s shoulders slumped. “You’re not?”

  “I’m here, aren’t I? If I was her, I’d still be there. Robin Hood’s Marian must have been around for longer than a month, otherwise she wouldn’t be part of his legend.” It came out harsher than I’d intended, yet I wasn’t sorry. I was angry. So angry. I wasn’t back by choice and I didn’t want to be reminded of what I’d left behind.

  “You could, you know, go back again, if you miss it that much.” It was the first thing the other Maryanne had said, and the tone of her voice grated on my nerves. So did the fact that she felt she had any right to take part in this conversation.

  I glared at her a moment, then shook my head. “Can’t go back. Ever.” Dad told me so the morning he sent me back in time. He couldn’t return to fix the mistakes he made in the twelfth century, so he sent me.

  Even so, with every part of me, I hoped Dad would disagree, tell me I was wrong. Partly so I could throw more of my fury at him, but mostly because I wanted to be wrong. Dad knew about time travel. At least, he knew more than I did. I wanted my life to have purpose—the kind I’d had living in Sherwood Forest. I wanted to be wanted, to be part of that other family I’d just started getting to know. Everything I wanted made me feel like a traitor, especially since I’d spent a good chunk of the past month wishing I were here.

  Dad sagged into his favorite chair, the lines on his face suddenly much more prominent than I’d ever seen them, making him appear ten years older. He gave no disagreement. All I could do was let out a deep breath and let it all go. I was back. I couldn’t return to Rob. The only thing I could do now was get on with my life.

  Mom flapped her hands, pointing us toward the kitchen. “Come, Maryanne. Let’s get you changed into something more comfortable. Then we’ll eat dinner. You can talk more after some food.”

  Dinner was roast lamb with roasted potatoes, kumara and pumpkin. It tasted divine. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d eaten—breakfast at Nottingham Castle I guess, and goodness knew how many hours ago that was. I shoved down mouthful after mouthful while Josh plied me with questions.

  “Did you really me
et Robin Hood?” He obviously assumed that was a given, not stopping to let me answer before the next question came from his mouth. “Did he look the same as in the movies?”

  I smiled. Rob looked nothing like the Robin Hood in the movies. He was better in every way. He certainly had a smile that did more to me than any movie star Robin Hood had ever done, though I guessed that wasn’t what my nine-year-old brother was asking. “He wore dark green and carried a bow and quiver on his shoulders, just like the movies.”

  “So, can he use a bow?”

  “Uh-huh.” That was around a mouthful of potato.

  “A sword?” Josh had stabbed a piece of meat with is fork. It was halfway to his mouth, waiting for my answer. Or for his next question.

  “Mmmm.”

  “Did you learn to use a sword? Or your bow again?”

  I glanced at Dad. We didn’t talk about me and a bow. We especially didn’t talk about it at the dinner table. Then again, I hadn’t thought Dad would send me away either, so what the hell. “I can’t use a sword. But I did save Robin Hood from the gallows with my bow.”

  Josh’s eyebrow’s rose. “Whoa! That’s so cool!”

  “You’ve really been back in time, huh?” The girl that looked just like me was sitting opposite. So far, I’d totally ignored her. “Back to 1196?”

  I nodded. That was about as far into a conversation with her as I wanted to get. I had so many questions about her, but they were for my parents and they would be asked when she wasn’t around.

  “Did you go to Nottingham? Did you meet any nobles?” she pressed.

  I’d met plenty of nobles. Most of them probably wished they hadn’t met me or the people I traveled with. “Yes, to both.”

  “What about Robin Hood?” Carrie put a tiny piece of potato into her mouth. I’d been watching her out the corner of my eye and was pleased to see some food making it to her mouth, even if it was nowhere near enough. “Did he treat you like a princess?”