by Tasha Black
11
Tansy
Tansy awoke when the first pink light of dawn slanted through the window behind her bed.
She was pleasantly warm, and more rested than she had felt in forever.
It was only when she stretched and felt Burton tighten his arm around her waist that she remembered why.
Holy crap.
“Good morning,” he murmured into her hair. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes,” she said. “Did you?”
“I did,” he whispered. She could feel him smiling into her hair.
Tansy closed her eyes and soaked in the moment.
“Are you hungry?” Burton asked.
“I guess,” she replied. “But we’re up early enough, we could go for a swim first.”
“That sounds nice,” he told her. “Although if you wanted to stay in bed…”
His hand trailed down her hip.
“My sister will be awake soon,” Tansy whispered back. “We need to get out of here.”
He kissed the top of her head and then launched himself out of bed.
She tried not to stare, but he was magnificent. The morning light set off his muscled torso. His sweats hung low on his hips, revealing a double line toward paradise.
When she managed to drag her eyes back up, he was grinning at her.
She grinned back and slipped out of bed, relishing the way he gawked at what she had always considered her very average body.
“I like your design,” he told her.
“Oh, it’s a tattoo,” she said. “I got it in honor of Grandma Helen.”
There was a sound in the hallway.
“Out the window,” she whispered to Burton.
He turned and slid open the large window beside her dresser.
Tansy grabbed her dressing gown from the hook and they both slipped out the window and dashed through the berry fields toward the pond. There was a faint ghost of pain in her ankle, but she was sure there was no real damage.
The birds were singing after last night’s rain and the world was painted in vibrant greens and blues.
Burton laughed when they stopped jogging at the edge of the pond.
“What?” Tansy asked.
“I was only thinking that we do a lot of sneaking and running away together, don’t we?”
“I guess we do,” Tansy said. “It’s probably not a good sign.”
“Then let’s stop running,” Burton suggested.
He shucked off his pants and dove into the pond.
He entered the water with barely a splash. It was hard not to notice how quickly he learned. She tried to remember if the boys had even swum in the pond more than once.
“Are you coming in?” he called to her, slicking his wet hair back over his head.
“I’m coming,” she said, removing her robe and walking out to the water’s edge.
She hopped in cannon ball style, creating a terrific splash.
She heard Burton’s delighted laugh just before she was completely submerged.
“Was that a belly flop?” he asked when she came up.
“Nope, it was a cannon ball,” she said, shaking her head.
“A cannon ball,” he echoed. “Fantastic. I’m going to try one.”
She watched as he scrambled up the bank. Water trailed off his naked body, glistening in the pink dawn.
He got a running start and then flung himself heavenward, curling his body into a ball and hitting the pond so hard Tansy was afraid the resulting splash would empty it.
She closed her eyes and when she opened them he was emerging from the water right in front of her.
“That was fun,” he said.
“It looked like fun,” she smiled up at him.
“But not as fun as last night,” he said. A smug half-smile tugged up the corners of his lips.
Tansy splashed him.
“You splashed me,” he said with playful indignance.
She splashed him again.
“Oh, that’s it,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her out of the water.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’ll let you choose,” he teased. “I can either kiss you or dunk you.”
“How about both?” she asked.
He promptly sank into the pond with her in his arms.
The water was cool around them and she felt her hair floating upward, weightless.
Burton’s hand moved up to cup her cheek.
Tansy opened her eyes.
Burton gazed back at her through the bubbles that swirled around them.
It was different somehow. As if they had slipped the bounds of time down in the quiet deep.
He leaned forward and kissed her. His lips were so warm.
She kissed him back, wishing they could stay under the water forever.
When she broke their kiss, they rose to the surface together.
The sun was glowing orange over the hillside now.
“Thank you,” Burton said softly. “This was very nice.”
She leaned her head against his chest.
It was hard in this moment not to wonder what it might be like to be his mate. Maybe they would have to travel, but if she could get this place running again first, and they had a couple of good farmhands, it might be okay to be gone part of the year.
Whatever his responsibilities off the farm, Burton really seemed happy on the farm. He worked hard, and he clearly enjoyed the simple pleasures of this place.
As strange as it was to think about who he was and how he had gotten to her, Tansy was beginning to think there was something to his idea that they were meant to be mates.
12
Burton
Burton stood in the cool water, his mate warm against his chest.
Brilliant colors saturated their small corner of the planet, the sun turned the surface of the water to flame, and the long grass of the meadow was a richer green than any emerald.
And Tansy’s heart beat strong and sweet against his chest.
She was his now - he knew it to his core, though she had not said the words and he had not claimed her. They were one.
He wondered how soon they would have young. He longed for privacy to explore their physical love with an agony equal to his desire to see their children explore the farm and discover all the good things that he was learning himself about this magical planet.
A place like Martin’s Bounty needed children to help with chores and swim in the pond and play on the porch. The movies had taught him that no farm was complete without children present to wonder at its daily miracles.
Tansy lifted her head from his chest and looked out at the horizon.
Burton chided himself for his fantasy. There would be plenty of time for children when Tansy was his mate.
For now he had to save her farm, so that she could concentrate on letting him love her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked him.
Her gentle smile told him she was amused. He was glad.
“I was thinking that the sun is coming up and we have a farm to save,” he said.
“You are one in a million,” she told him passionately.
He knew there were not nearly one million men created on Aerie for life on Earth. But he didn’t like to correct her when she was looking at him like that.
He leaned down and brushed her lips with his.
“Let’s get to work,” he whispered to her.
She took his hand and they waded to the bank.
Tansy let go of his hand to wrap her robe around herself and he pulled on his sweats.
They walked back toward the farmhouse in companionable silence. All around them the farm was coming to life. Birds sang, cocks crowed and when they got close to the house they could hear Sage banging around in the kitchen.
“I guess I should go back in my window, and you should come in the back door like you’re coming from the barn,” Tansy said.
“Yes,” Burton agreed, relish
ing the secret they shared.
He tugged her hand gently and she went up on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek before she disappeared in the direction of her bedroom window.
Burton went dutifully in the back door.
He was halfway down the hall before he realized that he was still wet from the pond.
He hesitated just outside the kitchen door trying to decide if it was a problem for Sage to know that he had been swimming this morning.
He didn’t mean to eavesdrop.
But he couldn’t help hearing the anxious tone of the voices in the kitchen.
“How bad are things?” Arden was asking Sage.
“We’d be much better off selling the farm to Dolly,” Sage said. “Much better.”
“I don’t think Tansy feels that way,” Arden said.
Sage sighed.
“Tansy’s stuck in the past,” she said after a moment.
“Your time with your grandmother was very special to both of you,” Arden said. “It’s hard to put a price on your history.”
“It isn’t when you’re gambling away your future,” Sage said.
“What are you talking about?” Arden asked.
“Tansy’s been spending her student loan disbursements on the farm,” Sage said. “If she doesn’t stop, she won’t be able to go back to college in the fall and finish her degree.”
“She’s spending her tuition money running this place?” Arden asked.
“Yes.” Sage sniffed.
“Oh, Sage,” Arden said. “Poor Tansy.”
Just then the teakettle began to whistle.
Burton took a few steps back into the darkness of the hallway to think.
Though his understanding of Earth’s custom of asking students to pay for learning was shaky, he believed he understood what Sage had said.
If his understanding was correct, then Sage was saying that Tansy had borrowed money for her learning, but was using it to pay for things at the farm instead.
And if this was true, then it occurred to Burton that staying on the farm might not be in Tansy’s best interests.
The realization hit him like a punch in the chest.
Serving Tansy’s needs had been Burton’s first priority since the moment they met.
This pull between what Tansy wanted and what was actually beneficial to her was confusing and unpleasant. Burton found himself in the unique position of being unsure how best to support and protect his mate.
The sound of her bedroom door closing told him that he needed to get moving.
He attempted to swallow down his confusion. Distress on his part would only be a hindrance to her. A bit of time spent observing his mate with this new information from Sage might help him understand what action could be taken.
The idea of spending more time with Tansy was pleasant and Burton managed to head back to the kitchen, hopeful that patience would provide the answers he craved.
13
Burton
“Good morning,” Burton said, stepping into the kitchen.
“Hey Burton,” Arden said with a smile so wide he knew she was wondering if he had heard their conversation.
“Good morning,” Sage said.
“Drago and Riggs are feeding the horses,” Arden said.
“I will join them,” Burton volunteered, feeling a bit guilty. “I woke up early and went for a swim.”
It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the whole truth. The deception did not sit well with him and he headed for the door quickly to rid himself of the sense of imbalance.
“Tell them breakfast will be ready in ten minutes,” Sage called after him.
“Yes, Sage, I will,” he called back to her.
He jogged through the sunshine to the field where he knew his brothers would be feeding Peanut Butter and Pickles, the two ponies.
“Hello, brother,” Drago called to him happily.
“Hi,” Burton called back.
Riggs lifted his hand in greeting, then went back to stroking Pickles’s mane. The little black horse shook herself slightly as if to complain that he had stopped.
“Where were you last night?” Drago asked, waggling his eyebrows.
Burton laughed.
Riggs rolled his eyes.
“You were with Tansy, weren’t you?” Drago asked, earnestly now.
“Yes,” Burton said, unable to keep from smiling.
“That’s wonderful, brother,” Drago said.
“Are you mated?” Riggs asked.
“I chose her, but she has not accepted me yet,” Burton said.
“She will,” Drago said with a happy confidence Burton wished he shared.
Burton nodded, unsure how to bring up what he had just overheard.
“Are you okay, brother?” Riggs asked.
“I was just in the house, and… I heard something I shouldn’t have,” Burton told them. “But it’s important.”
Riggs stepped away from Pickles to face him.
“What is it?” Drago asked.
“It sounds like the Martin sisters can’t afford to hang onto the farm,” Burton said.
“Didn’t we know that already?” Drago asked.
“I thought there was something we could do to help,” Burton said. “But it’s worse than I thought. Tansy has been spending money meant for her schooling to keep the farm running.”
“They’re keeping it running for us,” Riggs said, his deep voice dead serious. “To hide us.”
“What are you talking about?” Drago asked.
“Sage said so,” Riggs said. “She didn’t say it outright, but she was talking about the farm with Tansy and I heard them. Sage said Tansy only wanted to keep the farm so she would have an excuse to keep hiding Burton.”
Burton’s stomach twisted.
He hoped it wasn’t true. As much as it touched him to think that Tansy cared for him, he hoped she would not risk her future just to conceal him.
“That sounds like Tansy,” Drago said after a moment. “She likes you, Burton. A lot. But it’s easier for her to say she loves the farm than to admit that she loves you.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” Burton said, thinking about how happy Tansy was at the pond, and in the fields. She was a proud woman and not particularly demonstrative, but could she pretend to love the farm so perfectly?
“You know what you have to do, right?” Drago asked.
Burton shrugged, unable to imagine what he was supposed to do in the face of so much unhappy information.
“You need to show her that you can live off the farm,” Drago said. “Let her see that you aren’t shying away from the world, that you could follow her anywhere and not draw too much attention to yourself.”
“Make her think you hate it here,” Riggs offered. “Then it will be easy for her to leave.”
“I don’t know,” Burton said.
“Think about it,” Drago suggested, throwing an arm around Burton’s shoulder. “If you can convince her that you don’t want to be here, you’ll be saving her money and her education.”
“Besides, it’s what she wants,” Riggs said.
“You think this will help her and make her happy?” Burton asked.
“I do,” Drago said.
Riggs nodded.
Burton nodded too.
He looked at the ponies in the paddock.
Pickles was grazing. Peanut Butter looked back at Burton and snorted, tossing his chestnut mane.
For an instant Burton saw himself through the animal’s eyes.
The man looking back at him seemed strong and capable. The two men beside him were confident and a haze of good feeling encircled them all.
They looked like men who knew the right thing to do.
He blinked back into his own head.
“I’m not thinking straight because I’m in love,” he admitted. “I’ll tell her I don’t like it here.”
“No, no,” Drago said immediately. “Don’t just tell her, show her.”
“H
ow do I show her?” Burton asked.
“Breakfast time,” Riggs reminded them.
“Walk with me,” Drago said, heading back toward the farmhouse. “I’ll explain on the way.”
14
Tansy
Tansy pulled into a parking spot right around the corner from the post office.
Burton sat quietly beside her, looking out the window.
“Ready?” she asked.
He nodded.
She couldn’t help but notice that his energy was subdued compared with last night.
Tansy wondered if the swim had worn him out or if something was wrong. She tried not to think about whether he was having second thoughts about choosing her.
The most obvious answer was that he was just nervous about coming into town. She chose to believe that, rather than dwelling on doubts.
Burton was definitely attractive enough to get some attention, but one at a time the aliens seemed to be able to pass for farm hands. He was wearing a pair of Grandpa Max’s jeans, which hung low on his hips, and a tight white t-shirt that showed off way more of his muscular frame than Tansy wanted to share with the local talent.
“It’s nice out,” Burton said.
“Yes, it’s mild,” Tansy agreed.
A light breeze sent the village trees shimmying. The cafe tables of all the local restaurants lined the sidewalks, making Stargazer look temporarily European.
“Where do we go first?” Burton asked.
“I thought we’d go to Astro Apothecary on Jupiter Street,” Tansy said. “They sell vape supplies. And if they don’t have what we’re looking for, they might know where else to find it.”
“Okay,” Burton agreed.
They wound their way down the street, past the little shops with their space-themed decor and names.
The whole town had renamed itself Stargazer back in the fifties when the observatory’s first owner had built his enormous radio transmitter to send messages looking for life beyond Earth, and thought he received a return message.
Unfortunately for him, no one had arrived to prove him right until just this year. He’d been the town laughing stock for over half a century. Too bad he wasn’t still around to see just how right he’d been.
