Page 30 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
“Yup. I was going to take a walk along the fence. I'll let you know if any of it is down or needs repair.”
This youngling was going to be a big help; I could see that already.
“I appreciate that,” I said. “We'll see you later.” I pivoted Zist and urged him back onto the main road, aiming for Greel's house in the distance.
As I crested a hill, I spotted my brother Hail working on the fencing to my right. He'd rolled up his sleeves and was securing a strand of wire to a post.
He straightened when he saw me guiding Zist his way.
“Hey, Sel. How’s it going?” he called, grinning wide.
I slowed Zist and when he came to a halt, swung down from his back.
“Better than I expected,” I said.
Hail rubbed his chin and looked me up and down. “You look…different.” He spoke slowly, carefully. My brother had speech difficulties when he was young. A stutter, the humans called it. Our mother had worked hard with him to help, and it rarely came out now unless he was stressed. “What’ve you been up to?”
I shrugged. “The bakery, as usual.”
“I heard you'd hired someone.” He secured the wire to the post and dropped his tool into the leather pouch by his feet.
“I did. Her name’s Holly. Her twelve-year-old youngling son, Max, came with her.”
“Oh yeah?” He swallowed and seemed to wrangle with his tongue for a moment. I waited patiently. “How’s… How’s that going?”
“Well. I moved them into my place last night.”
Hail raised a brow. “I thought she would stay at the hotel.”
“There’s more room with me.”
“And where are you staying, then?”
“In the hay loft.”
His lips pressed together, and his gaze flickered down my arm. He grabbed my hand and flipped it palm-up. “Mating mark. Is she the lucky fated one?” With a grin, he knuckled my shoulder, a gesture like a human patting another's back. “Congratulations.”
“It is her,” I said quietly. “Holly.”
His face shifted, less excited now and more curious. “You’ve claimed her…in the ancient orc way?”
“Er, no. Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“The time isn’t right.”
He narrowed his dark eyes and adjusted his cowboy hat to shield his face from the sun. “Wait. Does she know?”
I squirmed under his scrutiny. “I can’t tell her. Not yet.” I dropped my voice. “She’s been through a lot with Max's father. He was bad. He hurt her.”
“We'll kill him,” my brother said simply, but this was the orc way. A threat to one was a threat to all.
“If he comes here, yes.” Orc justice didn't always follow the same rules as a human's. Seeking him out to slay him was one thing and forbidden in the treaty. But if he showed up here, in our territory, and threatened Holly or Max, I would not hesitate to act. The treaty was clear that we could respond to threats.
Hail grunted. Like me, he'd prefer to be proactive about this rather than reactive.
“If I push her too fast, it might make her feel trapped.” I studied the fence, seeing a possible break further ahead. “She might run.”
