Page 32 of Midnight Enemy

“I’d offer to do it myself, but I don’t think anyone would appreciate that. If I was to send my friend your way, would you put it to the other Elders that you’d like an audit done?”

Her jaw drops. “I… don’t know… it’s not my place…”

“Of course it’s your place. You’re a democracy here, right?”

“I don’t know the technical term,” she says stiffly. “The Elders are elected by the rest of us.”

“Are other members allowed an input?”

“We can attend Elder meetings, but the Elders make the final decisions.”

“So it’s Elder Council Governance rather than a Guided Democracy.”

“I guess…”

That makes it trickier. Some ‘intentional communities’ involve individual ownership and autonomy, where members rent their own houses but share meals, chores, maintenance of the communal areas, and possibly values and ideology, with the intention of fostering a sense of community and belonging. Kahukura obviously takes it one step further, though. I’m guessing its members form a fully income-sharing community that practices egalitarian decision making, with no one person in charge. And I’m getting a prickling feeling that tells me the lawyer was right—they’re struggling financially, and that’s why George and the others are pressuring for a higher price.

“You own the land, Scarlett,” I say. “And as a member of the commune, and as a human being, you have the right to ask that the people who are in a position of trust are doing their jobs.”

She looks puzzled. “I suppose.”

I realize that if she’s grown up here, and she’s not been to university, she’s probably never been taught to question.

“I’ll get Kingi to call you,” I say. “Have a chat to him and see what you think. I want to help, if I can.”

She stops walking and lifts her gaze to mine. “Why?”

“I… don’t know,” I say honestly.

“We’re enemies,” she says. “Aren’t we?”

I frown. It’s true that our fathers were. And before I met her, I would have agreed with her.

But she’s standing before me with her huge eyes and wet dress and a fucking rosebud in her silky brown hair, and I realize I can’t think of her as an enemy at all.

But she turns and walks away before I can answer, and I bite back my retort and follow with a frown.

Chapter Seven

Scarlett

“What time are you meeting him?” Ana asks.

It’s Sunday, and the two of us are working in the vegetable garden. I straighten, arch my back, and look at my watch. “Three o’clock. I suppose I should get going soon.”

Five days have passed since I showed Orson around the commune on Tuesday. It’s not been an easy week. And this morning he called the commune and left a message asking if I’d meet him at the Waiora this afternoon to talk.

I don’t want to see him again. He gets under my skin. He hasn’t yet agreed to the higher offer, and the Elders have called me in several times to try and convince me to push him to sell. But when I’ve called him twice to talk to him about it over the phone, his secretary has told me each time that he’s in a meeting. I suspect it’s been a ploy to make sure I meet him, but I can’t be certain.

“Have fun,” Ana says as I take off my apron.

I glare at her. “Fun is the last thing on my mind.”

“Your mouth says one thing but the blush in your cheeks says another.” Her words are mischievous, but her smile is kind.

I was so sure he’d prefer her, but I still think about his answer when I asked if he’d rather she show him around:I don’t want your sister. I want you.

Shaking my head to try to dislodge it, I say, “Whatever, I’ll see you later,” and head off to the house to get ready.

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