Page 26 of Jace

It was the curse.

There was no point dating after that. For the safety of the men who admired her, she pretended not to be interested.

And truthfully, she wasn’t interested in seeing them all have near death experiences. Not to mention what she thought might happen if any relationship survived past the first harrowing incident.

Susannah was lonely, but not lonely enough to issue a death sentence to the man unlucky enough to keep her company.

She bit her lip and thought back to last night.

She had let herself go for just a few minutes, enjoying Jace’s company and the feel of his big hands on her.

And look at what had almost happened.

Not just to him, but to Zeke. If that branch had hit his father’s head, the poor kid would have been down one parent before he could even talk.

And Susannah was pretty sure they would have died in the wilderness before he was old enough for her to explain it to him. After all, she had no idea how to get to the farm. Or back to civilization.

I’ll cut this off, she told herself. I’ll resist these selfish urges, and keep my hands off Jace.

Below them, the landscape had changed a little since yesterday. There were evergreens as well as deciduous trees, and a veil of clouds wound around them. The altitude was higher and the terrain more interesting.

She was very glad not to be walking.

It was hard to be so close to Jace, knowing what she had decided.

But it was better this way.

10

Susannah

After a long day in the air, Susannah must have drifted off at some point as they traveled over the trees and through the clinging mist.

She was roused from strange dreams by Jace humming to the float-ray.

“We’re here,” he murmured to her. “But no one is waiting for us.”

She blinked in the late afternoon sunlight and began to take in the scene below.

Yesterday, Jace had told her a crew was already there clearing out trees.

But she saw only a small clearing with a little house, and maybe half a dozen trees that seemed to have been left in place after they were felled.

“Aren’t the workers supposed to be there?” she asked, scanning the area.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said carefully. “We’ll have a look around when we land.”

Their talking must have woken the baby. Zeke smacked his lips and blinked up at Susannah as if to ask where his meal was.

“You have excellent timing, Zeke,” she told him. “We’re about to see your new home, and you can have your dinner.”

“Bah,” he told her, his eyes twinkling in spite of the furrow in his baby brow.

He was an old soul. Something about that stirred her heart so much.

“Yes,” she told Zeke. “It’s going to be a lovely evening.”

She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, and he caught onto her hair with his chubby fists.

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