I followed the sweep of his hand.
Only about a third of the lawn was mowed. The rest was still an overgrown mess of grass, weeds, and stubborn little bursts of spring flowers.
The truth was, I kind of did have to do this.
Nico had caught me snooping around again. This time I’d been lingering near the garage, pretending to look around while actually trying to figure out what else the building was used for, if there was anything more to it.
When he’d asked what I was doing, the only excuse I’d managed to come up with was that I’d been looking for the lawn mower because I wanted to help out around the house.
So here I was.
I waved him off with a small laugh. “It’s nothing, really. Besides,” I glanced around the yard, “I’ve kind of been wanting to do this ever since I got here.” That part wasn’t completely untrue, though.
Something was caught under the mower deck. A tough stem had wedged itself into the metal. I crouched down, making sure the engine was fully off before pulling it free.
A minty scent hit me immediately.
I sniffed the crushed stem, then looked back over the area I’d just cut.
The whole patch looked like it used to be an herb garden before it went feral. Mint had taken over everything, spreading wildly and choking out whatever else had once been planted there.
Nico followed my gaze. “Oh. That.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle. “Yeah. We tried growing some stuff out here for a while, but turns out keeping up with it takes actual effort.”
I straightened and gave the stem one last sniff before tossing it over my shoulder.
“Well,” I said, “let’s just say you definitely succeeded in growing a mint garden.”
Nico laughed. The sound was loud and easy. I found myself smiling back before I even realized it.
“Hey, you want to take a break?” Nico asked. “I brought some juice out earlier.”
He pointed toward the small round table on the porch. A glass jug and a couple of glasses sat there, catching the sunlight.
I raised an eyebrow. “So you’re not going to tell me to stop? Or take over?”
“Why would I?” Nico shot back, already turning toward the porch. “Free labor is free labor.”
I huffed out a quiet laugh and followed him up the steps.
The wooden chairs creaked softly under our weight as we sat down. Nico poured two glasses from the jug. A sharp, tangy scent drifted up the moment the liquid hit the glass.
I took a sip, then another.
I must have been thirstier than I thought, because I ended up draining the whole glass in one go. The drink was cold and refreshing, tart enough to make my tongue tingle.
Nico watched me finish it with an amused grin. “Wow. Should I bring a bigger jug next time?”
I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth, a little embarrassed.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “That might not be a bad idea.”
I glanced over at him. If Nico had any suspicions about me, he wasn’t showing it.
The past few days had followed the same pattern. He slept late, rarely coming up from the basement until close to lunch.
Most evenings he disappeared again until around nine, when he finally wandered upstairs to grab dinner. Other than that, he was usually running errands in town or out on the packlands.
He never looked at me strangely. Hadn’t even hinted that he’d caught me poking around again.
