Page 44 of Invasive Species
“I… Yes. I have all these animals to check on. Can we split the work?”
He blinks slowly, then nods. “Of course.”
We agree which fields we’ll cover and I hare off to check the farmyard animals. The regular chickens are fine picking through the grass, and the sheep in the barn are all with their lambs and look happy, for sheep. They kind of stare at me like they know I don't belong here. Oversized Old Mae follows me up the private road, making bock bock chicken noises along with a rattling hiss. I shudder.
Laura's BMW roars up the track, coming to a skidding halt on the gravel. Old Mae flaps her multicolored wings, as if any vehicle means Ellen might be returning, but her feathers droop when Laura steps out in her sky-high heels.
“Hey babe,” I say with a wave.
Laura smiles, looking around warily. “Where are they?”
I put my thumb over my shoulder. “Gara's helping me feed some animals, and I assume the others are working on the barn.”
“Assume?” Laura's sharp blue eyes focus on me. “Ara, this is an otherworldly threat. You need to know where they are at all times.”
“They're fine, they just build the barn all day apart from a break to go swimming.” They really haven't done anything wrong, and they’ve had plenty of opportunity to. Protectiveness over them wells up inside me. Gara might take everything seriously and is chock full of dark humor, but he’s not up to anything bad.
She massages the top of her nose. “Gara is their acting leader, right? What's he doing?”
“Leading the way fixing the barn. Seriously, Law, he just works, swims, eats and sleeps.” Well, that’s not quite true. “And studies.”
“Studies?” She unsnaps her laptop case from where it was lovingly strapped in the passenger seat.
“Yeah. I gave him my e-reader to read things.”
Laura freezes.
“Look, he’s not downloading instructions on how to take over the Earth,” I say with a sigh.
“No, this is good. Let’s see what he’s reading.”
I sigh and grab my phone. The devices are linked so I can see what my e-reader has downloaded and where he is on each book.
“Drumroll please, I bet it's a short history of time,” I murmur, holding the phone so Laura can see.
“I'm not playing with this, Ara. If he's looking up how to build a bomb, or…” Laura's voice trails off as the phone syncs.
Andoh. Shit.
We scroll hundreds of titles. Hundreds. Dating guides. Sex manuals. And alien romance.
“Uh. Well.” I clear my throat. Fuck me, this is exciting. “So he's interested in learning how to eat out humans. Better than eating humans, right?”
Laura shoves my arm gently, high spots of color on her cheeks blazing under her makeup. “Well, I never expected that.”
I chuckle. “He's a fan of Planet of the Pirate Prince; we'll have something to discuss other than the barn project at breakfast now.”
“Has he read them all? Even the extra scenes?” Laura’s jaw drops.
“Sounds likeyou'rea fan too.”
This time Laura makes grabby fingers as if to wrap them around my throat. I dance away and she laughs, then says, “Okay, he's being benign slash ingratiating for now.”
“Benign? This is proactive.” My mind zips onward as always, three horizons ahead of everyone else. “If he's looking at sex manuals, he must be interested in how humans work and how compatible we are. If we get together, can I expect not only a mind-blowing experience but also pillow talk of my favorite series?” I rub my hands just thinking about it.
Laura laughs.
I look back over my shoulder at the barn. “Of course, the other explanation is that he's inexperienced and needs guidance.”
