Page 10 of An Alien for the Farm

Istand with my back pressed against the front door, my heart beating far too hard for my own good.

What was that? I felt like a schoolgirl talking to the hot guy from the football team while all the other girls looked on, bewildered. Here, it was oogas and tilgrans watching from the distance. Calm animals, those oogas. I don’t know what to think of the tilgrans yet. I was scared to go too close to the perimeter fence because one had ventured near. They’re massive up close.

Pressing a hand over my heart, I breathe out slowly, even as my heart still thunders in my chest.

The hunk of an alien, Zynar, looked at me as if I had his entire attention. God, I haven’t felt my heart beat like this in so long. It’s almost alarming, and I pull out one of the chairs at the table and sit down to steady myself.

Glancing upward, I can hear the faint thumps of his boots on the roof as he moves. He’s obviously from some predator race with those eyes. Maybe that’s what this is. Fight or flight. My body’s scared of something.

I sit there for a few more minutes, my heart slowly calming down as I listen to Zynar work.

This is so stupid. Eleanor, you’re out of your mind. He has to be what? Like thirty? Thirty-five, tops. I can never know, though. These aliens don’t age like humans. Nevertheless, he’s certainly not my age group and certainly, most definitely, has a woman out there somewhere. Young males like him like playing around. Party and do whatever they want. Have as many women as they want. They’re not looking for anything serious. Not that I’m looking for anything serious, either.

I’m not. I’m not looking for anything at all! I didn’t come to this planet for romance. I put that behind me a long time ago. I thought that was clear. Possibly, I need to remind myself that men, romance, and everything that comes with relationships are things I can do without.

I frown. I’m getting ahead of myself. Maybe the suddenness of these sensations is what’s putting me out of sorts. Back on the refugee ship, I was surrounded by aliens and this never happened. Most of them didn’t look like beings I’d ever get in bed with, but there were a few humanoids and I didn’t feel a thing. I thought I was dead inside. Or perhaps it’s because none of them ever looked at me like that. Like I was something entrancing. Something…desirable.

And maybe that’s why I can’t help but dream. It doesn’t hurt to dream, right? As long as nothing happens, I can dream all I want. I might even dream about those yellow eyes tonight. The warmth in his gaze is a memory I’ll keep for a little bit, even though I know he must look at all the ladies like that. He’s a tradesman after all. Customer service and all that.

I sit for a few more moments, listening to the soft thumps above me as the alien continues to survey the roof. A soft smile comes over me before I huff out a deep breath and stand. Dreams. Memories. Lost hopes. That’s all this is. Time is moving and if my walk around the grounds was anything to go by, I have a lot of work to do. No use in sitting around dreaming about things that will never happen. The work isn’t going to do itself.

Rising, I head into the little kitchen. Everything within it is strange—the stove, the oven, even the placement of things. Strange, but not impossible to figure out. When I’m settled in enough I’ll try baking some cakes. For now, I’ll keep meals simple. Judging from my little chat with the roofer, this place might need more extensive repairs than I first thought. That means the thousand credits New Horizons left might not be enough after all. I have to be smart with my spending.

There’s a little kettle Xarion set up, thankfully, and I put it on the stove. After more tries than I’d like to admit, I get the fire going. Taking fresh mugs from the supplies, I grab crackers too and tea flowers. I make the cups of tea in no time and set the crackers on saucers. There’s no butter and I wonder briefly if ooga milk will be able to create the stuff. They’re like cow-hippos after all. I’ll have to check one day. Can make my own butter and even sell it too, if that’s the case.

More plans come into my mind as I place the food on a tray and step outside, walking a few steps into the yard before turning to look up at the roof. I spot him immediately. The color of his scales is hard to miss. Using that same measuring tool attached to his waist, he sends the laser along the thatched roof, the device extending and retracting with precise movements. He disengages it and it disappears without a sound before he uses something that looks like chalk to create an X on the roof fibers.

My brows shoot up. There are about ten Xs just on this front part of the roof that’s visible. I’m staring at them, realizing slowly that it must be where the holes are, when Zynar turns around.

His gaze finds me immediately as if he knew I was already standing there. That delicious misplaced tingle spreads through me again.

“I brought tea.” I smile and his gaze shifts to the tray balanced in my hands. “Are those…”

“Weaknesses,” he says, gesturing to the markings with one arm. He doesn’t even look at the roof. Those yellow eyes are glued to me. “In these spots, the beams supporting your roof are…inadequate.”

Oh no. That really doesn’t sound good. I thought it was the roof fiber alone that needed changing. “What do you mean? They’re rotting too?”

“Yes.” His gaze shifts slightly as if his eyes are traveling over my face. “They need replacing.”

I bite my lip. Shit. “How much will that increase the cost? The computer told me around fifty to sixty credits for patching the roof. I didn’t budget…” I worry my bottom lip. I didn’t take time to do a budget. Not yet. But the roof is important. If I don’t have a roof over my head, I might as well sleep in the field with the oogas.

Zynar watches me. “It will require more supplies…more time…”

He must see the uncertainty rising within me because he continues. “Do not fear, Liora. I’ve already contacted my siblingkin, Varek. He will return with everything we need.”

Great. Liora. So he did hear my name. Only he’s forgotten it.

I don’t correct him. Doesn’t matter, he’ll be gone in a few days anyway. Instead, I press a smile to my face. “What about the cost…”

He smiles and it catches me off guard. He really is beautiful. The more the sun rises, the more it plays over his scales, sending purple, blue and pink back to me.

“I do not overcharge.”

“So not more than sixty then…” My eyes narrow playfully and Zynar barks out a low laugh. That catches me off guard, too, and I press my lips into a line before smiling back. “I’m joking. I know it will cost more than that, but I’d like a quote, at least, so I know what to expect.”

He gives a slight tilt of his head in affirmation.

“I have tea. Come before it gets cold.”

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