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“He just had to find out for himself, didn’t he?”
Dora grinned at her and she smiled back.
“Especially since we were trying to tell him not to do something he was determined to do.”
Her daughter’s smile vanished.
“Was that aimed at me? Because you warned me to stay away from Malcolm?”
Oops.She hadn’t consciously been thinking of the parallel, but perhaps it had been in the back of her mind. Her brief hesitation only made Dora more annoyed.
“Must be nice to be right all the time.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, I’ve made more than my share of bad decisions.”
Dora’s mouth opened and she winced, already anticipating the question. Had marrying Abner been a bad decision? Perhaps, but it had also given her Dora and Tommy so she couldn’t really regret it. Fortunately, a barefoot Tommy came bounding back before Dora could ask and she had to scramble for an answer.
“Where’s the sandwiches?”
He looked at her as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks and she laughed.
“I’ll get the basket while you get your shoes.”
He raced off to fetch them, and then the three of them enjoyed the simple meal. It wasn’t until they were finished that a chill suddenly skated down her spine. Something felt wrong. The birds that had been chirping in a nearby tree had gone silent, and an unnatural stillness filled the clearing. The sky had a faint yellowish tinge that worried her, and she rose to her feet.
“I think we’d better?—”
Boom!
The crack of thunder directly overhead was so loud that it drowned out Tommy’s terrified cry. Lady reared, dislodging the picket line. As soon as her hooves hit the ground again, she took off.Dammit. Before Ida could even consider chasing after her, the skies opened, rain descending in torrents. The open carriage would provide little shelter, but after a frantic look around, she gathered Tommy into her arms.
“The rocks!” she yelled at Dora over the increasing roar of the wind. “Shelter.”
Dora was huddled over Angel, trying to protect her from the rain, but she nodded. Even the short distance to the outcropping was a struggle against the increasing violence of the storm, but they found a crevice large enough to provide shelter and managed to tuck themselves into it and out of the rain.
“Now what?” Dora asked, rocking a whimpering Angel.
“Now we wait until the storm is over,” she said as calmly as possible.
“I don’t like this.” Tommy’s voice trembled as he peered out at the sheets of rain obscuring the clearing. Thunder boomed again, and she tightened her arms around him.
“I know, sweetheart. But what do we always say about storms? It’s just giants playing a game in the sky.”
“Pretty big giants,” Dora said dryly. “Bigger than your aliens, squirt.”
That drew a tiny giggle from Tommy and she felt some of the tension leave his small body. She gave her daughter a grateful smile and rocked him the same way Dora was rocking Angel. But even though he began to relax, she couldn’t prevent a nervousglance out into the clearing. The creek was already swollen, and with this much rain…
If the water makes it this far, we’ll just have to climb up on the rocks, she decided, even though the thought of the four of them at the mercy of the storm terrified her. For now, all she could do was wait and watch.
CHAPTER 3
Temel stared at the pile of books and papers on his desk and sighed. He’d thought that once he left the military he wouldn’t be as burdened with paperwork. He’d been wrong. It also didn’t help that the nearby town of Wainwright still used actual paper for most of their transactions.Paper. He shook his head as he picked up yet another list of supplies that were apparently imperative if they wanted to raise crops to feed their animals.
He’d thought that farming would be simple—yet another wrong assumption. But then again, he’d never had any experience with the production of food. He was the son of a minor Kemberian noble, and his training had centered around politics and weaponry rather than animal husbandry.
Such a long time ago, he thought, looking down at the House signet ring he still wore. Somehow he’d never been willing to abandon it, even though those ties had long since been cut. He’d been brought up to believe that his duty was to his House, to his Lord, and to his planet.But now my only duty is to my squad, he reminded himself, fighting back another sigh.
Even this farming venture was for their benefit. He’d encountered the son of the ruler of his House by chance in Port Cantor, Cresca’s spaceport. Artek had also chosen not to return to Kember after the long, vicious war on Vizal, and he’d told Temel how much a simple life on a mountain ranch had helped to heal his males. This farm was intended as another sanctuary for former warriors, and Artek had suggested he take on the project.
