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“Oh, and you don’t?” I countered. “This morning was the second time I’ve walked in to find her on her back with your head between her legs!”
Remiel grinned. “What can I say? I seem to have an innate talent she finds useful, and you guys were all off somewhere messing around, so I was taking one for the team.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “Recovery seems to be coming along pretty quickly, pun intended. If you’re feeling that good, you could join in with the hard work.”
Remiel’s laugh boomed through the barn. “I could, that’s true, but Dylan insisted I relax and take things slowly, and only partake in limited physical activity.” He grinned at me, his eyes sparkling gold, and I couldn’t help but grin back. After nearly losing him, it was so good to see him up and about, and I’d never seen him in such a good mood than he had been this week. He might argue, but he had fallen for Dylan as hard as the rest of us.
“Yeah, you take it slow, Rem, while we work our asses off. She’s a real slave driver, our girl.”
Remiel’s eyes darkened, and a smile curved his lips. “I’d like to drive her…”
“You and me both. Speaking of, I’m going to go see if she’s ready. Are you meeting us down there with the others?” He nodded, and I turned toward the door.
“Joph?”
I turned back.
“Ade says we should do it tonight. Make the decision.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“Are you still sure?”
I smiled. “The only thing I’m sure of is that beautiful woman up at that house.”
Remiel’s gaze softened, and he smiled. “Yeah, it’s going to work out, isn’t it?”
“I know it is,” I answered.
There was no sign of Dylan when I reached the house, though I could hear the TV blaring from inside. If her father hadn’t left for town yet, Dylan wouldn’t come out to see us. Once it was clear Remiel was going to recover, the evening visits had stopped—at least until her father had passed out on the sofa. She’d explained he was just protective and worried about her virtue. As angels, we could understand that completely, but at the same time, the precedents set years ago were no longer relevant on Earth, and I didn’t think it would matter how many men Dylan slept with. Her virtue was impeccable in her beautiful soul and kind character, so nothing could ever dirty her in my eyes. I leaned back against the porch railing, looking out over the farmland in front of me. The farmyard sloped away from me, with barns and outbuildings on either side, but nothing had been built between the house and the open vista beyond. The sun was low in the sky, and everywhere its light touched looked like it was dipped in gold. The beauty filled my heart, and I felt as though I couldn’t be happier at this moment in time. Even with the threat of Gabriel’s lieutenant on our tracks, I felt as though nothing could go wrong for us now.
“What are you lurking here for?” The oily growl of Dylan’s father interrupted my thoughts like a cold shower. He clomped down the steps and turned to face me. He was a big guy, and though he wouldn’t reach Ade’s or Remiel’s height, he could look me in the eye quite easily. He wore a clean shirt, but he stank of stale booze and sweat, and it looked as though he hadn’t shaved in a few days.
His dead eyes locked onto mine.
“I’m just... er… waiting for Dylan.”
“What for? She’s done her work outside, and she needs to be in the house now,” he barked.
“Oh, yes, of course. I wouldn’t dream of taking up her time. I just wanted to let her know what we managed to get done on the farm for her today.” To my surprise, lying was something I’d managed to pick up with very little effort when it came to Dylan’s father. Maybe regret from lying to someone only came if you had a modicum of respect for them, and I had absolutely none for this asshole.
“Listen,” her father growled, stepping closer so I had to move away from him, “I don’t want you getting any ideas in your heads about this place.”
“Ideas?” I asked in confusion.
“You think you can impress her, sweet talk her, and make her like you by doing all these jobs for her? This is my farm, not hers. She’s allowed to live here because I haven’t kicked her out yet. Don’t be thinking you can stay on because you’ve managed to do a few jobs. You can’t just walk in here and take over.”
“Oh, no, we wouldn’t—”
“Yeah, you would,” he sneered. “You are so full of yourselves, with your swagger and those shiny swords, when you’re really all just cowards.”
Anger boiled inside me. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. Cowards, the lot of ya.” He turned and spat on the ground next to my feet, and I restrained the impulse to punch him.
“Sir, I don’t know what—”
“Oh, you don’t know, but I do. I’ve heard the rumors, you see. Your side is losing, and there are deserters left, right, and center. And here you are, soldiers of Heaven, hiding out in a barn and flirting with a human woman. Awfully suspicious. Do you know what human armies used to do when men deserted? They shot them in the back as they were running away. Fucking cowards.”
