by Tasha Black
“I hear that you think it’s the water,” she said slowly. “But why do you think that?”
But Drago had buttoned his lips again. He looked down and shuffled his feet.
Arden felt like screaming. This was like dealing with her step-dad all over again. When the man wanted to be nice, he was nice. But when he made up his mind about something, he’d rather be dead wrong than admit he’d made a mistake.
Stubborn male pride was not something Arden admired or even understood. She could barely tolerate it in her own family. She certainly wasn’t about to encourage it in this enormous alien man-child.
“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t have the right to yell at me. And you don’t have the right to argue without even explaining your point of view,” she said, hearing her voice go up a note. “I know you think there’s a problem with the water. But I disagree. And these trees need to be kept hydrated. Cutting them off from their water supply would endanger them.”
Drago looked up, his blue eyes tortured.
“I am sorry, Arden,” he said. “I did not mean to raise my voice. I hope you will forgive my terrible manners.”
She was so stunned the rest of her rant went trailing off in her mind and she could only stare at him.
Her step-father never, ever apologized.
“It’s okay,” she told Drago at length.
“Let’s go pick blueberries,” he said lightly. “Maybe we can come back to the peaches after lunch with fresh eyes, and find more evidence of what’s happening.”
His blue eyes scanned the trees restlessly.
A crazy thought occurred to her.
“You’re not planning to try and do something to the irrigation system, are you?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “No, of course not. I wouldn’t do that.”
“You promise me you won’t try to cut these trees off from their water supply?” she asked, feeling like a lunatic even as she said it.
“I will not harm these trees,” he promised.
Arden nodded, feeling a little foolish.
“Okay,” she said. “Yes, let’s go pick some blueberries. We’ll come back later.”
She patted the bark of the nearest tree as if to comfort it, though she knew it was a silly thought.
It was sad to see them drooping without knowing why. She cared about the well-being of Tansy and Sage’s finances and whether they could hold onto the farm, of course. But she cared about the trees too, for their own sake.
When she looked up, Drago was smiling at her in an appraising way.
She felt her whole body go to attention.
They might have just had their first argument, and it might have been a little weird, but they certainly had great chemistry. And as long as she forced herself not to dwell on the fact that she had let Dr. Bhimani down by getting involved with her subject, Arden felt pretty good about the fledgling relationship she had with Drago.
As they walked down the hillside to the blueberry patch she allowed herself to imagine, just for a moment, that he was her mate, and that this idyllic farm was their home.
Strangely, the thought brought her peace instead of the endless barrage of inner protest she’d had when she pictured settling down with her old boyfriends.
She tried not to dwell too long on the implications of that realization. She was a little scared that she would find some reason to push Drago away.
But she was even more afraid that she wouldn’t.
14
Drago
Drago spent the rest of the morning in moral agony.
The sky was blue, the birds were singing and each fragrant blueberry hit his pail with a satisfying plunk. But up on the hillside, the peach trees were choking on their own water.
Just ahead of him, in the next row over, Arden picked blueberries as if her life depended on it. The swift movements of her lovely form were like a graceful dance. But the line in her forehead told him she was thinking hard.
He wondered if she was thinking about the peach trees, or thinking about him, and the oafish way in which he had tried to argue about their care.
Dr. Bhimani had told Drago and his brothers many, many times that they must not share their gifts with anyone until they were mated.
Her advice made good sense back at the lab. Allowing a human to see his special power would only make him seem more alien to her, placing a wedge between them. And using the gift could draw the attention of other humans who could then detect that he was not one of their kind.
But here at the farm it was harder. He knew what was wrong with those trees.
But he couldn’t tell Arden why he knew.
No secret should be kept from a mate. Even the youngest nestling on Aerie knew that. And an open heart was the key to human love as well.
The problem rocked back and forth in his head, stretching his loyalty razor thin between the closest thing to a human mother that he had known, and the woman he would make his mate.
As the conflict reached a fever pitch in his mind, there was the sound of a bell from down at the farm.
He was startled to see the sun was directly overhead. It was lunchtime already.
“Come on, lunch is on,” Tansy shouted from the house.
Drago waved back at her and turned to Arden.
“I’m almost done with this row,” Arden said. “Go ahead, help her with lunch and I’ll meet you down there.”
She was squinting but she was also smiling. That was good.
“Okay, Arden, I will help Tansy,” he agreed. “I will see you in a few minutes.”
He headed down the hill and across the meadow.
The door to the farmhouse was open. Drago stepped inside and waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the shadow.
Tansy was piling sandwiches onto a platter. They smelled delicious. Drago hoped they were tuna fish.
He moved to help her.
“Thanks,” Tansy said. “Want to keep stacking tuna sandwiches while I get the lemonade?”
“Sure,” Drago said, feeling pleased. Tansy and Sage were very generous employers.
“Did you guys get a chance to look at the peach trees?” Tansy asked.
Her voice was soft, but he could sense the hope in it.
“We did look at the trees,” he said.
“Any ideas on what might be wrong?”
Drago bit his lip.
“It’s okay, I didn’t think you would know anything,” Tansy said. “I’ve been picking those peaches every summer since I was a little kid and I don’t know what’s wrong with them either.”
“I have an idea,” Drago admitted.
“You do?” Tansy’s eyes lit up with interest and she put the lemonade pitcher down on the counter to listen.
“I think it’s something in the water,” he said. “They’re choking on it - you need to stop watering them.”
Tansy frowned.
“I set up the irrigation system exactly the way Grandma Helen did. I have all her notes. She wrote everything in her book every year. And the peach trees have had the same watering plan for years.”
“I still think we should check on it,” Drago said. “Is there any chance the water quality is compromised?”
“Like from run-off?” Tansy asked. “From the farm next door?”
“Maybe,” Drago said.
“We’ll check the water right after lunch,” Tansy said happily.
“What water?” Sage asked as she stepped into the kitchen.
“The water for the peaches,” Tansy said. “From the irrigation system.”
“You think something’s wrong with it?” Sage asked, grabbing a bowl of strawberries from the counter.
“I think we need to check it,” Drago said.
“Drago thinks we should stop watering them until we get to the bottom of it,” Tansy added.
Movement in Drago’s periphery caught his eye.
Arden was standing in the doorway, looking straight through him.
> Guilt lay heavy on his chest for betraying her wishes. But he owed some loyalty to the family that had taken them all in. And he had not broken his promise not to harm the trees, or his promise not to reveal his gift.
He was navigating a difficult situation as best he could.
“That’s an interesting theory,” Sage said. “Let’s run up there right after lunch and check it out.”
“Why wait until after lunch?” Arden’s voice could have cut a diamond. “Let’s go check out Drago’s theory now.”
“Uh, okay,” Tansy agreed, shooting a questioning look at her sister.
“Fine,” Sage said.
Arden turned on her heel and marched out the door and up the hillside toward the peach orchard.
Drago followed, his heart pounding, sweat prickling his forehead. He felt ill and wondered if his symptoms indicated the flu. It was very strange, since he had not had contact with anyone who was ill.
“What’s wrong, brother?” Burton asked as Drago jogged past him after Arden.
“We are checking the water,” Drago said. “To see if it is harming the peach trees.”
“This sounds interesting,” Burton said, turning to the field. “Riggs, come on. We’re going to test the water.”
Riggs straightened from where he had been picking berries. He waved and headed their way.
Arden had already marched almost to the trees.
Drago ran to catch up.
“This is exciting,” he heard Tansy telling Burton behind him. “Wouldn’t it be great if you guys solved our peach troubles for us?”
Arden veered off the path at the last moment before entering the orchard. She headed over to a stockade fence and unlatched the gate.
Inside stood was a large square pool with hoses going in and out.
The others gathered around the edge.
“This is the reservoir, right?” Arden asked.
“Yes, that’s the one,” Tansy agreed.
Arden walked carefully around the sides.
“I don’t see any signs of anything getting in, or of water escaping, do you?” she asked.
“No,” Tansy agreed. “It’s water tight, as far as I can tell.”
“There’s nothing overhanging the reservoir either,” Arden pointed out. “No possibility of chronic issues from trees or animals overhead.”
Tansy nodded.
“There’s always the chance though, that there was an isolated incident of something getting into this water,” Arden went on. “I’m going to use a testing kit on it now. I’ll get several samples.”
They all watched as she pulled a handful of test tubes from her bag.
“You carry water testing kits in your purse?” Sage asked in disbelief.
“I’m a botanist,” Arden explained.
“Wow,” Sage said.
“What is a botanist?” Burton asked, echoing Drago’s thoughts.
“A scientist who studies plants,” Tansy exclaimed before Arden could answer. “I had no idea how lucky we were that you guys decided to come to us for help.”
Realization hit Drago and he mourned anew how offensive his attitude had been with her this morning. She was an expert on her planet’s plant life, and he had tried to tell her she was wrong.
But she was wrong - he knew it even now. The plants were choking on their water they had as good as told him.
Arden smiled grimly and laid out the materials before her. She bent over the reservoir and gathered a few samples of the water as they all watched, rapt.
She pulled an envelope of paper strips from her bag and carefully used a dropper to transfer water from one of the tubes onto the paper.
Drago’s heart ached as he watched Arden study the paper, the telltale line forming in her forehead. He hoped it wouldn’t further humiliate her to be wrong about this.
“It’s clean,” she said.
Drago’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“What happens to the water from here?” Arden asked.
“It goes through two filtration systems,” Tansy said, looking disappointed.
“I’ll keep running tests for another hour or so to be sure and then I’ll check out the filters,” Arden said. “But I don’t think the water is the problem.”
“Oh no,” Tansy said. “I was hoping this was it.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Arden said, giving Tansy a genuine smile. “Don’t worry.”
“Okay, crew, let’s give her some space,” Sage said. “I’ll bring lunch up to you here, if you want.”
“That sounds good,” Arden agreed.
Drago hung back as the others filed out, trying to think of how to properly apologize.
“Go eat,” Arden said. “I’ll keep testing. If I find anything I’ll let you know.”
“I’m sorry,” Drago said.
“I need to concentrate,” Arden said, looking down at her testing kit.
Her cheeks were a furious red. He could not imagine how angry she felt.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Very well,” he said. “I will bring you lunch. It’s tuna sandwiches.”
“Sage is going to bring me lunch,” Arden said, bending over the water to gather another sample.
“Okay,” Drago said.
“See you later,” Arden said dismissively.
Though it felt like he was ripping his heart out of his chest, Drago turned and walked through the gate, heading down the hill toward the others.
How much damage had he just done to his relationship with Arden?
And why had the trees lied to him?
15
Arden
Arden looking up from her mixing bowl to notice the light outside the farmhouse window had begun to fade.
She couldn’t believe how quickly the day had flown. She finished her water testing and then she’d gone on to examine the filtration system. All of it had been clean, just as she’d thought.
The whole time she’d been seething mad at Drago.
Though she didn’t know why she should feel that way. Everything she knew about his Earthly education told her that he should be a chauvinistic alpha male.
It was just that he hadn’t seemed that way in his interactions with her. Until today.
“How’s the pie crust coming along?” Tansy asked.
“Oh, it’s fine,” Arden replied. “I’m probably over-stirring it.”
“It was a pretty crazy day, huh?” Tansy asked.
Arden almost cracked at the sympathy in the other woman’s voice.
“Here,” Sage said, putting a glass of wine in Arden’s hand.
Arden took it gratefully and sipped.
“Oh, that’s good,” she said.
“Sangria, with farm fresh fruit,” Sage replied with an uncharacteristic twinkle in her eyes.
“Mmm,” Arden said, taking another sip. It tasted like sunlight and blueberries.
“So let’s talk about it,” Tansy said, taking the mixing bowl gently from Arden’s hand and placing it on the counter.
“About what?” Arden asked.
“Dear god,” Sage said, smirking.
“About you and Drago, of course,” Tansy said. “He obviously messed up today. That’s why we’re going into sister mode.”
“What’s sister mode?” Arden asked.
“Clearly you don’t have a sister,” Sage said.
“It’s kind of like you gave off an emotional code red that can only be seen by your sisters,” Tansy explained. “And we are springing into action to help.”
“Wow,” Arden said, thinking how cool it must be to have a sister.
“So, we’ve got the wine,” Sage said, “and the first blueberry pie is ready to come out of the oven. You two should get settled in the living room. I’ll slice us some pie and meet you guys out there.”
“Good thinking,” Tansy said, grabbing Arden by the elbow.
“Don’t forget the wine,” Sage said, giving a significant
glance to the enormous glass pitcher of wine and fruit.
“On it. Hold this,” Tansy told Arden, handing over her own wine glass so she could carry the pitcher.
Tansy’s cat, Cleo, padded after her, as if she were also part of sister mode.
Arden headed to the living room with two glasses of sangria and a hopeful feeling that her bad mood was about to lighten.
Tansy set the pitcher down on the coffee table and began to briskly pull the cushions off the sofa and fling them onto the floor.
“Sister mode means getting cozy,” Tansy explained to Arden as she seated herself on a cushion and patted the one next to her. “Give it a try.”
Arden settled onto the floor and immediately felt like she was at a middle school slumber party.
“Hope you’re hungry,” Sage announced as she came in from the kitchen with a tray.
She set it down on the table and Arden’s mouth watered at the sight of three slices of the fragrant blueberry pie.
“So, talk to us,” Tansy said. “What did that bastard do?”
And although Arden would have sworn she wouldn’t ever want to talk about her personal problems with two women she’d practically just met, the words came tumbling out.
“I never wanted a relationship with him,” she said. “I’m supposed to be a scientist.”
“Yeah, how did that work?” Tansy asked. “I thought you said you were a botanist?’
Arden laughed.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s a long story.”
“Good,” Sage said in a businesslike way, refilling Arden’s glass. “We don’t want any of this to go to waste.”
“Where are the boys anyway?” Arden asked.
“Oh, we sent them to feed the chickens,” Tansy said. “And we said they could swim in the pond afterward if they wanted. They’ll be gone for hours.”
“Okay,” Arden said, settling in. “Well, it was my senior year of college and things were tight. I saw an ad in the school paper.”
“Wow, I can’t believe Bhimani advertised,” Sage said and took a big sip of wine.
“Well, it wasn’t for wrangling aliens,” Arden said. “It was for ovum donation.”
Sage nearly sprayed wine onto her pie plate.
