Page 5 of Alien Mine

“We’d love the company,” she said with a small smile. “And to be honest, I could use some help with the fence.”

The fence he would’ve fixed anyway. Kraden jumps. At least he hadn’t landed on one of the creatures inhabiting Rachel’s farm. They looked uncomfortable and had the bleat of a crazed screxhound pursuing its prey. “Show me the tools and I shall fix it.”

Her eyebrows shot up, arching high on her smooth forehead. “You’re a fancy talker, Mr. ab Mhij.”

“English is not my first language,” he said stiffly.

“No kidding. Well, stick with Kelly. She’ll shake thatformality right out of you quicker than spit. Speaking of, I’d better get back in there and round them up. I’ve promised the girls waffles for breakfast, and you’re more than welcome to your share.” She rattled off a figure for the room’s monthly rent, then placed her hand on the doorknob. “I didn’t hear a vehicle drive up.”

“I arrived by another method.”

“So you don’t have a car?”

He prodded his memory, and finally, an image of a primitive, motorized vehicle popped into his head. “Not here, no.”

“Then you can ride into town with us if you need to. It’s too far to walk and the road’s dangerous between here and there, besides.”

He bowed. “Thank you, Lady Rachel. Your generosity is boundless.”

Pink flashed into her cheeks. “Fence won’t fix itself,” she muttered, and whirled away from him and out the door.

He stared after her, bemused. Tiny’s mother was a strange woman, though she seemed like a good one. He riffled through the contents of his pack and carefully counted out enough local currency to purchase six Earth months of rent and meals. Being on the far-flung planet might be an inconvenience, but it had its benefits, too. Rachel was attractive, her daughters lively and bright. It had been a long time since he’d been around children, even longer since he’d been around a whole family of females. The next few months should prove interesting, provided he could figure out what danger young Tiny was in before it affected her and her family.

Rachel kept her back to the handsome stranger sitting between her girls at the kitchen table. True to his word, Dyuvad had helped her fix the fence, and done most of the work, truth be told.

Course, he’d stripped off his t-shirt to do it, and hadn’t that been a sight?

She opened her waffle maker and carefully pried a crisp cake away from the metal cooker, ignoring the blush staining her cheeks. Lordy, that man had the nicest chest this side of the Mississipp’, broad and heavily muscled and very, very yummy. An intricate tattoo of a stylized deer of some kind circled his upper left arm, not like anything she’d ever seen before, maybe a tribal tattoo or something. Against all reason, when she’d eyed his inked skin, butterflies had erupted in her stomach and her privates had tingled something fierce.

Tattoos, for goodness’ sake. Those weren’t supposed to be a turn-on for a respectable, church-going woman.

Too bad he’d put his shirt back on after he’d washed up.

She slid the waffle onto a plate and loaded the waffle maker with more batter. That her new renter had pitched right in and helped out was a pure blessing. She hadn’t expected to find somebody who had money and was willing to lend a hand both, yet there the man was, sitting at her table dividing his attention between Kelly’s polite chatter and Tiny’s unintelligible rambles. And there the money was, burning a hole in the front pocket of her shorts, more than enough to pay the land taxes when they came due at the first of the year, right about the time he’d be leaving.

The screen door screeched open. Rachel glanced over her shoulder and stifled a sigh. Her brother stood in the doorway framed by the early morning light, his strawberry blonde hair a curly halo around his head. Wasn’t it just like Fate to show up after all the hard work was done, right on time for a hot meal?

Fate’s eyebrows shot up in his thin face. “Didn’t know you had company, Sis.”

“Fate, this is Dyuvad. He’s renting my spare room through the fall.” She turned back to the stove and prodded the sizzling bacon. “Dyuvad, this is my brother Fate. He lives next door, in that big house around the curve coming from town.”

A chair scraped back along the linoleum and Dyuvad said, “A pleasure to meet you, Fate.”

“Likewise,” Fate said. “Come here, Tiny girl. You can sit onmy lap and share a waffle with me.”

Tiny clapped her hands. “Melex.”

Rachel bit her lip around a smile. Chances were good Fate wouldn’t be sharing a waffle. He’d eat a whole dang one on his own, bless him. “You calm your dogs down, Fate?”

“Yeah. Sorry about the barking. Don’t know what got into ‘em.”

“My apologies,” Dyuvad said in that low voice of his. “I crash landed on Lady Rachel’s fence, creating havoc among her animals.”

“Lady Rachel, huh?”

“Leave it be, Fate,” Rachel said mildly. Lord knew, she’d about given up on getting Dyuvad to call her plain ol’ Rachel. No matter how many times she asked, he reverted to the title like she’d done something to deserve it. She checked the waffle, judged it done, and gave it its own plate. “Here now, boys. Get your breakfast while it’s warm.”

A soft footfall landed on the floor behind her, then Dyuvad appeared at her side. “It is customary here for women not to eat with men?”

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