She had been here, trapped? Been in this house, or at least, on the grounds, for forty-six years?“Ah, I see you understand. There is a stone in the ...arden, a hearthstone. It was taken from some famous castle of an equally famous Mage. It is linked to the minor ley line that runs under our property. It prevents anyone from teleporting in or out; keeps me from leaving for any reason, and until you walked through the gate today, it had kept Mages away as well, though I am not sure it is part of. I did a lot of riding, too. My legs toughened up because I'd wear a hat and the riding bra, and that was it. Bare skin against a saddle, or just the horse's skin, will do that.There was also a lot of companionship. I saw Tom about once a week. He'd come out to the Ranch for the night, and we'd spend time getting acquainted all over again. I didn't lack for male attention, though. Under the rules I had to confine myself to my age group, but there were enough boys that that wasn't a problem. A. "I hugged her back, hard, and whispered, "Thanks. I love you, too."I could hear whispering through the opened door, but all talking stopped when I walked into the room. All three girls were already dressed for bed, and both Tami and Zoe were glaring at me. I pulled the desk chair up to face the three of them and sat down."I know you guys are pissed at me, and you have every right to be. First, I want to apologize to you, Zoe. I had no right to yell at you. You were trying to protect me from my. "I don't know, Daddy. I was just awfully tired. I guess maybe it's almost that time of the month."Fred was naked from the waist up and he wore skin-tight jeans and no shoes or stockings. He looked fresh from the shower and Pattie blushed when she noticed the bulge in his crotch."What's the blush for?" Fred said in a tight voice."You look so handsome," Pattie said. "For a minute I forgot you were my father. I thought you were a boy from school or something." What a nice compliment for an old.