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Kalpar had been keeping track of the animals as they passed through the gate and made some quick notes on his datapad before looking over at him.
“I’ll show you the tracking program when we return to the house.” Another hesitation. “There’s a small pond just beyond those trees. We could stop long enough to rinse off before returning to the house.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” he agreed. The dust was making his scales itch - one of the less pleasant parts of dealing with cattle.
They both removed their shirts and splashed water over their heads and chests before sitting down next to the pond to let the sun dry them.
“Is the rest of this land all abandoned farms?”
‘Yes.” Kalpar’s mouth twisted. “All except one. S’kal’s brother took the furthest farm.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s an unsocial bastard with a criminal record. You two probably know each other.”
“It’s possible,” he said evenly. “I have met a number of questionable people over the years.”
Kalpar didn’t miss the implication but to Celenk’s surprise, he gave a half shrug.
“That damn war brought out the worst in a lot of people.”
The other male was right. He hadn’t known what he was capable of until then.
“I never liked undercover work,” he said, surprising himself. “But I was good at it and that’s all my commanding officers cared about.”
“They were a bunch of worthless bastards,” Kalpar agreed. “Except for Temel. He’s the finest officer - the finest male - I’ve ever encountered.”
He didn’t respond and after a long moment the other male sighed.
“And that includes Captain Margat. He won our loyalty but even before you had him dragged away in chains, there were a few times when I… wondered.”
Surprised by the admission, he turned to look at Kalpar.
“But you were so outraged.”
“It’s a long way from a few idle suspicions to seeing him hauled off like that. And the betrayal only added to it. You’d lived with us, eaten with us, fought with us - but it wasn’t real.”
Like my marriage.
The thought made him cringe internally, as did the memories of that time.
“I’m not proud of anything that I did during the war, although some of it needed to be done. Are you proud of your actions?”
Darkness swept across Kalpar’s face.
“Gods, no. And I would prefer not to discuss it further.” He rose and pulled on his shirt, tossing Celenk’s shirt to him. “Time to get back to work.”
He nodded and followed silently, but he was not displeased. The morning had gone better than he expected. That satisfaction continued throughout the day. He and Kalpar worked well together and while he couldn’t exactly say the other male had softened towards him, they’d reached a cautious detente. He also found a surprisingly comfortable familiarity in the work with the cattle.
The only part of the day he truly disliked was that he hadn’t had a chance to get back to the house, to Lottie. The sun was low on the horizon by the time he returned, casting long shadows across the meadows as he reached the house and dismounted. The barn once attached to the property listed dangerously to one side but the small lean-to was intact and Kalpar had suggested stabling his horse there.
He removed the saddle and wiped down the horse, then made sure he had food and water before finally entering their house. Not just our house, our home, he thought as walked into the kitchen and Lottie smiled at him, so beautiful she took his breath away.
“Perfect timing. Dinner’s almost ready. Would you like to take a shower first?”
“Yes.” He leaned against the doorway, drinking in the sight of her. “Would you care to join me?”
“It is a little warm in here,” she said demurely, but her eyes sparkled with mischief, and he laughed as he followed her down the hall to the bedroom. His codix was already beginning to press against his slit as she removed her clothes to reveal that pale, enticing body. He turned away long enough to remove the survey device, carefully tucking it away out of sight, then herded her into the bathroom.
