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“Would you like some Traq?”
“Yes, please.”
I finish out drinks and bring utensils. We sit at the end of the table, right next to each other and eat.
“Burl told me to remind you to get him a list of ingredients today so he can order them from the feed store.”
I nod. “I’ll get that to him today.”
“I’m also going to put in an order for a brand-new food dispenser in the barracks. The one we have is old and doesn’t include options for human food. It needs updating.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I am happy to eat traditional Hyrrokin food and also cook human food myself sometimes.”
“No, I insist. But it won’t happen immediately. It will take a while for it to be purchased and sent all the way out here and then installed, but eventually, you will have it.”
“Well, thank you.” Even though in my head I’m thinking by the time it gets installed, I’ll be gone and there will be no reasonto have it in the first place. But I don’t want to say that out loud and burst his bubble.
“You will create meals for the other men as you see fit,” he continues. “It’s not your job to feed them. I have a whole other employee whose job is to feed the men in the barracks. Your number one job is to feed me. They will ask too much of you and I don’t want you to be weighed down. Don’t forget, they have a whole other cook just for them and the food dispenser for the whole ranch is in the barracks.”
“But…”
“Female, you do not understand how much these males want some of this famous human food. And how they will ask for more and more and more. It will be never ending.”
This leads to a lively debate between us on what and when I cook and for whom. Thorn is a stubborn male who likes to give orders, but the problem is that I don’t really like taking orders that don’t make sense to me. In the end he allows that I will play this by ear and be allowed to lead with generosity, but he’s going to make sure they don’t take advantage of me, which sounds like a good plan.
We finish our food and take the plates to the sink. “Would you like some more Traq?” I offer.
“Yes.”
I make it exactly how he likes because I learned this already last night. I’m enjoying the two of us alone here together, eating breakfast. It feels cozy. Comfortable. We get along well. I can see already I’m going to like living here with him.
Also, he looks unbearably handsome this morning, in his brown pants and thick belt buckle. He’s wearing nothing else. No shirt. No shoes. And he looks magnificent. A strong male ready for a hard day’s work.
He’s standing much too close to me in the kitchen. I look up and meet his molten eyes. That pleasant swoop flutters in my belly again.
That barbed tail flicks behind him and he looks like he’s about to say something important. And then Thorn glances out the front window and puts down his cup. The smile slips off his face and his features turn serious. “He’s here.”
I turn toward the windows too, but I don’t see who he’s talking about. “Oh. Your brothers? Are they back for a visit this morning? Or is it Burl?”
“No. None of the above.” He looks at me with a sober, almost troubled expression on his proud face. “Don’t be upset.”
My eyes widen. “Thorn, what did you do?”
Chapter 7
Mica
“Icalled the local sheriff,” Thorn Flagstone announces.
“You did what?” I squeak and spit up the sip of Traq I was taking and start coughing.
He pats my back.
“Please tell me it isn’t true,” I gasp, pushing my hair back from my face. “There’s a peacekeeper here? Are you kicking me off your property? Is that what’s happening? Do I have to leave with the authorities?” I literally feel tears forming in my eyes because I thought this was going to be different. This was supposed to be nothing like my time at Brimstone mansion. “Thorn,” I whimper. “I thought you were different.”
“No. No. Female. No. You are staying. You are safe here. This situation is truly different than whatever hell you were put through originally. But I cannot keep from our local sheriff the knowledge that there is someone on my property who needs help and protection. And it’s in your best interests for him to know.”
“No,” I growl. “You don’t understand. The peacekeepers on Tarvos have not helped me, they have not been helpful. They’re paid off to be on the side of…” And then I bite my lip and stop talking before I say too much.
