Page 24 of An Alien for the Farm

With one finger, he points to the large storage box I slept on last night. “Will you be keeping it?”

“Oh, I…” I take a moment to chew, frowning as I stare at the box. “I wasn’t planning on it. But I might have to, at least for a while.”

“Why is that, Little Bird?”

Oh my God. Now he’s using my language. That makes it even worse. Heat warms my cheeks and I clear my throat. Taking another bite of the sandwich, I try to calm myself. “Until I get my bed ready again.” His brows furrow and I hurry on. “It’s a whole thing. My mattress is toppled and I’ll have to find a way to get it back on. Till then—”

Zynar’s suddenly rising. With one last bite, he finishes his sandwich, and my eyes widen slightly as I glance down at mine. I still have ninety percent of mine left. Well, I guess lunch is over. Something in my heart drops a little and I realize that even though this is unexpected and confusing, I’d been hoping to spend some time with him. Maybe to convince myself this is just harmless attraction. Setting my sandwich down, I force a smile on my face as I look up at him, standing to see him out the door. But Zynar’s not facing the door. He isn’t even facing me.

I’m given the view of the tight muscles in his back as his gaze shifts around the room.

“Where you sleep,” he takes a few steps forward, “it is here, correct?”

Yellow eyes find me as he looks over his shoulder. With one arm, he’s pointing directly at the bedroom.

“I, uh, yes…”

He’s off after that, heading directly into the bedroom. I rub my hands in the hem of the tunic I’m wearing before hurrying after him. I’m at the door when my eyes widen into round pools because Zynar is in my bedroom, filling it completely. I can just see over his shoulders as they flex and bunch before he lifts the heavy mattress and sets it back on the bed frame. Eyes wide, I can only stare at him.

Shifting it into place, his gaze slips around the room before his eyes find me again.

I’m speechless.

“Thanks. I…” I what? I don’t even know what to say. It felt like it weighed a ton to me but he lifted it like he was lifting a biscuit.

“Now you can sleep well, Little Bird.”

Oh crud. Is he going to use the English phrasing all the time now?

He comes toward me and that fight or flight thing kicks in again because my heart’s thundering in my chest. I step back and he passes me, heading straight for the storage box at the side of the living room. With a crouch and a heave, it’s in his arms.

My mouth falls open but sense soon comes and I’m hurrying past him to open the door. I’m speechless again as he takes the thing out and brings it to the pile of stuff I’m planning on getting rid of.

There, he frowns again.

“What is it?” I’m caught in a sort of awe and confusion. Thoughts I’ll have to dissect later all threaten to rise and come to the fore.

“You will rear oogas?”

I blink a few times. “Well, yes. I suppose.”

His gaze shifts to the barn I was cleaning out the other day. “This box will be good for storing bagged feeds for your animals.”

My eyebrows lift slightly. “Will it?”

I can hear his words, but all I can think about is the fact he’s lifting the box again as if it weighs nothing and he’s heading toward the barn with it. Balancing the large box on one arm, he flings the barn doors open with the other. He grunts something, probably not impressed by the interior, before the door swings shut and he disappears. When he doesn’t immediately come out, I find myself following after him.

Inside the barn was messy, still is messy, and I walk in to find Zynar turning in a slow circle, gaze roving everywhere. When his head tilts and he looks at the roof, worry springs inside me.

“What is it? Is the roof bad as well?”

He makes a long sound like a hmm.

“The roof needs patching in several places. The beams supporting it have some rot that needs to be replaced. The walls could use reinforcement, and the floor needs to be leveled and cleaned. The doors should be repaired to close properly. You’ll need proper storage for feed and tools, fencing for the pasture, and ventilation for the animals. The water troughs are cracked and should be replaced, and the grass-feed storage,” he points above us where there’s a loft, “needs new supports.”

My heart drops, a part of me feeling suddenly overwhelmed. “That sounds like…a lot…”

Zynar’s gaze shifts to mine and he takes two strides before he’s standing in front of me.

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