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There was no point in denying it.“I think I do,” Hannah said quietly.“I don’t know why, because it’s not like we have a lot in common.”
“You’re both the de facto leaders of your respective societies that are facing extinction.”
“I’m hardly a leader.And I’m sure there’s some decorum to be expected if there is.”
“You’re the closest thing we have to that.You sent out that SOS.You’ve been working night and day since the quake to keep us fed.You convinced everyone that letting the cyborgs live here was a good idea and arranged billeting for them.You stepped up in a way no one else did.”
“You looked after reusing old materials and repurposing things...”Hannah began, but Jasmine cut her off.
“Which is important, but you kept the planet fed.That was a huge responsibility, and it isn’t only yours now.”Jasmine rearranged herself, so her back was to the couch’s arm.“Your tea’s getting cold.”
Hannah picked up her cup and drank some.“He understands responsibility,” she said.“He’s always so eager to tell me what he’s accomplished during the day.He doesn’t smile when he does it, but...”
“You can tell,” Jasmine surmised.
“Yeah.But it’s not like I smile that much, either.”
Jasmine shrugged.“You’d be a perfect match.”
“We hardly know each other,” Hannah protested.“And how do I know if I feel this way only because he’s the first attractive man I’ve come across since the earthquake?”
“Since before the earthquake.I think a lot of the women here were ready to build their own spaceship and take off for parts unknown to find a partner they liked.I definitely was.”
Hannah had to admit that Jasmine was right.Due to an aging, shrinking population, there’d been a distinct lack of spouses available in recent years.Even her brief relationship with James Thierry so many years ago was borne out of curiosity, not true affection or attraction.While the first settlers had large families, the last couple of generations had seen people having only one or two children, if that.The lack of medical care and poorly maintained infrastructure only added to their population woes.
“What do I do?”Hannah finally asked.
“Follow your instincts.”
“They haven’t been helpful.”
“They’re out of practice.They’ll come back.In the meantime, just treat Rhys normally, like the leader of his people that he is.He respects you.”
Beneath her conflicting feelings for the puzzling cyborg who shared her home, Hannah respected Rhys too.“I don’t want to make things weird,” she said.
“You won’t.Just keep doing what you’re doing and see how you feel in a while.Maybe Rhys will open up to you himself.”
“Maybe.”She drank some more tea, savoring its pleasant roasted taste.“Thank you.”
ChapterSeven
The power station’scontrol room was smaller than Rhys would have expected it to be, only large enough to hold perhaps four people.A wall of old-fashioned switches and levers faced him, all ready to be activated.
They’d done it.New Eden was about to have electricity for the first time in over two years.It had taken a couple of days past his original estimate of 48 hours to finish the repairs, thanks to a blocked bulkhead, but the people of New Eden hadn’t cared.Hannah had organized a meeting in the amphitheater the night before to announce the impending repair, news that was met with resounding cheers.
And Hannah had looked at him with shining eyes and a smile that tugged at him.He’d even summoned a smile of his own in response.He wanted to see her look at him like that again.
Which was why she was with him now in the power station’s control room.He thought she should have the honor of reactivating the power grid.She looked at the array of controls, a furrow between her brows.“You’ve made a lot of changes since I sent out that SOS,” she said.
“Of course.We’ve made a number of improvements and reinforcements to protect the station, in the event of more seismic activity.That’s why reactivating the power took so long.It will withstand another earthquake.We will also train your people to operate this equipment.”
“I guess anything is an improvement from the old equipment.”She peered at a row of newly installed controls.“You’ve restored the power in less than a week.That’s hardly a long time.”
“We had to build and replicate some components.Eventually, we will have to leave New Eden in search of raw materials that aren’t available here.There’s a waystation in this quadrant that’s likely to have the supplies.There are more improvements still to be made.”
“This is a hell of a start.”
Rhys nodded at the controls.“You should switch it on.”
