I make a point of not staring, keeping my focus on the task at hand so I don’t give her any reason to stop.
When I turn back, Orán is attempting to coax the shyest of Talbert's brood from behind its mother, further warming my heart.
Deciding to give him a better chance of success, I go to the garden fence and lean over it to pluck a small carrot. Kneeling next to him, close enough that our shoulders brush, I grab his bound wrist. Then turn over his hand and lay the carrot inside.
“You might have better luck with this. She’s a picky eater.”
“What’s her name?”
“Hazel.”
“Hazel.” He smiles kindly and slowly offers the carrot. Willa, her mother, comes forward first, and Hazel, who is all but glued to her side, approaches as well. Only when her mother begins to eat does she dare take a nibble of Orán’s carrot.
The grin Orán gives me as the animals eat from his hand does foolish things to my heart—things I’m careful not to let show on my face. Because this… sharing space with a man who is beautiful, kind, and unexpectedly gentle… is something I could grow used to.
Something I might even welcome one day.
If only he were anything other than what he is.
For the rest of the morning, I let myself pretend otherwise. That he’s just a man I happened upon in my travels. That I’m not what I was raised to be. That we’re simply two people trying to survive—finding what small moments of peace we can while the world comes to an end.
And for a little while, lost in that quiet lie, everything feels right.
Afterward, when we’ve all had enough sun and the animals’ bellies hang heavy with food, we wander back toward the house.
I send Orán ahead, telling him he’s welcome to the snacks in the kitchen. He lingers in the doorway, waiting for me, but I shoo him inside with the excuse that I’d like to stay out a bit longer.
The truth is, Lila has been giving me knowing looks for the last hour, and it needs to stop.
So I drop into the chair beside her and tell her as much.
She leans over, her belly pressing into the chair arm. “It’s just cute, is all. I’ve never seen you like this, and I wasn’t sure how this would go, but you two…”
“What?”
“Compliment each other. And if you haven’t noticed, he’s kind of sweet on you. Watches you constantly.”
“Oh, stop.”
“It’s just.” She sits back, and a half smile graces her face. She holds up her hand to block out the sun from her eyes. “It gives me hope.”
She peers sideways at me and meets my eyes.
“That someday I’ll find my somebody, you know? Not just my parents—but my person too, now that you’ve found yours. Someone who won’t mind that this child isn’t his. Someone who loves me enough to do what Orán would do for you.”
My brow lifts slightly.
“That man,” she corrects herself with a small huff. “Sorry, Horseman—would protect you. He’s not going to lay a harmful hand on your pretty head.”
Her gaze lingers on mine as she says it, searching.
“I don’t know about that,” I murmur.
“Yeah, you do. You just need to work some things out. You’re halfway there already.”
I shake my head and let out a small laugh. “If only it were that easy.”
She nudges my shoulder. “We could use a little easy, yes?”
