Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

  “It does, but I prefer to drive manually.”

  We pulled out of the palace and onto the track leading to the main road.

  “What’s being delivered?” I asked.

  “My new tractor,” he said excitedly.

  “Wow! That is exciting.” I hesitated, maybe now was as good a time to get a few things off my chest. “Have you spoken to Talina since we’ve been back?”

  “Yes, I have broken off our engagement,” he replied.

  I felt a wave of relief. I didn’t need to ask how she took it because I could probably guess. I cleared my throat. “And have you told your father?”

  “Yes I have.” He glanced over at me before returning his eyes to the road, he was obviously wondering where I was going with this. Nevertheless his answer took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to have told his parents so soon.

  “And how did he take it?” I asked.

  “Well, let’s just say he wasn’t jumping for joy.” I sensed he was downplaying his father’s reaction.

  “Aren’t you worried you might lose your inheritance and your farm?” Elaya’s words were ringing in my ears and they were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  He looked over at me again, but because of his sunglasses, I struggled to read the expression in his eyes.

  He looked back at the road. “I couldn’t care a less about my inheritance, I don’t need my father’s money and as far as the farm is concerned, it’s none of his business,” he said, sounding decidedly prickly.

  Was it true? His father had no financial hold over him whatsoever? Or was he just saying it so I didn’t feel guilty for being the one who made him lose everything. “It’s just that Elaya seemed to think he helped you buy it.”

  Ahran snorted. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister but she really has no idea how I run my affairs and she had no right to talk to you about it.”

  I felt guilty. I had a strong suspicion Elaya would get an ear bashing over this and it was all my fault, I shouldn’t have said anything. “Please don’t be angry with her, she was only trying to protect you.”

  “Protect me?” he asked.

  My heart sank, I was really beginning to wish I hadn’t brought the subject up. I cringed inwardly. “Oh it doesn’t matter.”

  “Protect me from what, Sophie?”

  I took a deep breath and silently apologised to Elaya. “She happened to mention that if you and I got together there was a chance you might lose the farm.” I tried to say it as light heartedly as I could in the hope he wouldn’t be any angrier with her than he already was.

  “Is that why you are so reluctant for anyone to know about us?”

  Goddammit, he was good. I couldn’t deny it. “It may have been one of the reasons,” I said in a small voice.

  “For God’s sake Sophie, why didn’t you ask me?”

  “Because I was frightened you might change your mind about us.” There I had said it!

  He looked across at me. “How could you think that? Even if it had been the case it wouldn’t have changed my feelings for you.”

  This was like music to my ears.

  “My father has no control over my life. I made sure of that when I left university. I never wanted to rely on him. He was unreliable when I was a child and I knew to depend on him as an adult would have been foolish.”

  “You don’t have to explain,” I said, feeling embarrassed. He obviously guarded his privacy very carefully if his sister didn’t even know what the situation was.

  “Yes I do, I don’t want there to be any secrets between us Sophie. If there is anything you want to know, ask me, I will always tell you the truth.” He paused. “If we have any chance of a future together we have to be open with one another.” For some reason I got the impression he was saying this more for his own benefit than mine.

  He was gripping the steering wheel so tightly, it was causing his knuckles to go white. He was clearly angry. I placed my hand over his. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

  “Yes you should have, and sooner than now if it has been bothering you that much.” He hesitated. “On the subject of being honest with one another, there is something I need to tell you.”

  The colour seemed to drain from his face and I felt the most awful sense of foreboding.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  He was staring straight ahead and his expression was beginning to scare me. He ran a hand through his hair.

  “I…you need to know….” He faltered and the seconds ticked by.

  I sat and waited. Whatever it was he was finding it very difficult to voice and I felt my unease increase. “What is it Ahran?” I asked again.

  “I…I’m a man of considerable means,” he said finally, hurriedly.

  Was that it? I let out the breath I had been holding. I’d been expecting something far worse than that. I almost laughed. “You don’t have to tell me Ahran, I get it, and if you are worried about it, I’m not after your money,” I reassured him.

  He seemed to relax. Did he really think I was after his fortune?

  “I have had considerable success on the stock market here,” he confided, “and I’ve accrued a significant amount of money over the years.”

  “So if we were to ever get married,” I interrupted, “you would want me to sign a prenuptial agreement, is that what you are saying?”

  Suddenly, he roared with laughter. I failed to see the funny side of it. Isn’t that what Hollywood couples did when there were fortunes at stake?

  “No, Sophie, I would never expect you to sign a prenuptial agreement. If we were to marry, it would be for life, you would be stuck with me. I just want you to know everything there is to know about me, that’s all.” For some reason he sounded disappointed with himself. I couldn’t even begin to think why. Surely, he was proud of his achievements? I still wasn’t quite sure why he had been so worried about telling me about his wealth. The whole conversation had been rather confusing.

  “So, you spoke to your father about breaking off your engagement. Did you tell him about us?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “No, since we came back from Morana you’ve seemed distant at times. I didn’t want to say anything to my parents before I knew how you felt.”

  He had been his usual perceptive self. Until last night I had planned to walk away but now there was no chance of that. I suppose I felt relieved that nobody except Elaya and possibly Leylana knew about us. It still gave us the chance to enjoy each other for a while before we became Ramian headline news.

  “So we’re a couple then,” I said, surprising myself when I realised I’d said it out loud.

  “Does that please you?”

  Ahran spoke flawless English, but every now and then he sounded like a foreigner.

  I smiled as I looked at him. “Yes, it pleases me.” Some of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of a happy future with Ahran had melted away during our conversation. I couldn’t quite believe that maybe we had a chance together. I stared out of the window with a stupid grin on my face.

  Eventually we arrived at Ahran’s farm and he stopped the car at the gate.

  “Okay, are you ready for the grand tour?” He seemed anxious, I think it really mattered to him what I thought.

  I smiled and nodded.

  The surrounding countryside was green and lush and not as mountainous as the area where the King and Queen lived. We drove down a long tree lined drive for about a half a mile until it opened out onto a sweeping gravel drive in front of the house, which turned out to be a very pretty white weather boarded homestead. I think I had been expecting something more… grand. It was a pleasant surprise. The house was two stories, and apart from a large apex at one end, the second floor was in the roof, judging by the dormer windows looking out like a pair of inviting eyes. On the ground floor, a veranda wrapped itself around the front of the house. The front garden was a little overgrown but must have been lovingly tended at one time. There were well-stocked
borders with an array of plants and shrubs surrounding a lawn. A path ran through the middle of it and led to the front door. I sat there for a while taking it all in, it was the kind of house I had dreamed of as a little girl.

  “It doesn’t look much at the moment but I’m going to have it modernised and extended.” Ahran had mistaken my silence for me being underwhelmed.

  “No, it’s lovely,” I breathed.

  “You like it?” He sounded surprised and relieved.

  I nodded and got out of the car. Ahran joined me on the gravel. There were lots of trees surrounding the house which gave it a sense of seclusion and I could hear the birds singing in the trees. I took in a deep breath. The air was laden with the heady scent of jasmine. “Mmm, that smell is divine.”

  “There’s a walled garden out the back but it’s covered with weeds. Once I’ve finished the house I’ll concentrate on getting the gardens back to their former glory. Let me show you inside,” he said, taking my hand. We walked up to the front door. Ahran struggled to turn the key in the lock. “Technology hasn’t quite caught up out here,” he said apologetically. He seemed genuinely concerned I would think it old-fashioned but it really couldn’t have been more perfect.

  It was the first time I had seen Ahran unsure about anything. He was obviously more worried about what I thought than I had realised. Did he envisage me living here with him? Leylana was right, it was very beautiful and a house I had only dreamed of, but could I see myself living here? Could I leave my home and friends behind on Earth? What if things didn’t work out between us? And off I went again, falling back into my old negative thought patterns, fearful of the future, too consumed about the ‘what ifs’ and ‘buts’. I was tired of it, so very tired. Why couldn’t I just take what life had to offer without fearing what was around the corner the whole time? I was always afraid to look ahead. Had my experiences damaged me so much that I was never going to be able to allow my own happiness to blossom? I shook my head, frustrated with myself.

  Ahran finally managed to turn the key and gave the door a shove to open it.

  There were worn wooden floor boards in the entrance hall. We walked through to the kitchen, passing doors to our left and right which must have been the reception rooms. In the kitchen, the walls were white and the units were tired looking but even though the house needed some attention it was warm and welcoming.

  “It obviously needs some work. This room is south facing and the sun is in here most of the day. I intend to extend it so that the kitchen is bigger and lighter.”

  “It sounds perfect.” I couldn’t help but be affected by his enthusiasm. A scene of domestic bliss popped into my head. A couple of blond haired children sat at the breakfast table being entertained by Toby whilst I busied myself making breakfast and Ahran fed the baby in the high chair. I could easily see the house’s potential. It would make a lovely family home.

  Our footsteps echoed as we walked across the wooden floor to the glazed double doors leading out to the back garden. Ahran opened one of them onto a large patio and a huge garden which was mostly laid to lawn. There were trees dotted around creating dappled shade and off to the left was the walled garden he had mentioned.

  We stepped outside. “Wow! It’s got an orangery.” I could see the wooden and glass apex of an old glasshouse peeking above the brick walls of the enclosed garden.

  “Yes, that’s coming down.”

  “No, you can’t pull it down,” I protested and ran towards the close boarded wooden gate.

  I opened the door. “Oh, it’s fantastic,” I enthused. “You could grow anything in here, lemons, oranges, peaches.” I stood there and let my imagination run wild again. There I was picking our own fruit and veg, Toby and the little ones digging holes to sow their sunflower seeds in and the dogs chasing a dragonfly.

  Ahran came and stood behind me and put his arms around my shoulders. He put his nose in my hair and breathed in before kissing the side of my head. I leant back into his arms. That was all I needed, his arms around me. I realised in that moment I wanted it, I wanted a piece of this paradise, I wanted to be here with him building a home and trying my hardest to take each day at a time.

  I turned around and put my arms around his neck, I looked up into his eyes and willed myself to say it, I so desperately wanted to tell him I loved him. The feelings I felt for Ahran were so much more than anything I had ever felt before and I was at a loss as to how to express them. I took in a shaky breath and closed my eyes. I reached up and kissed him, pressing myself into him in the hope, that somehow by the process of osmosis, he would feel the emotion threatening to overwhelm me.

  He broke away. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

  “Nothing, absolutely nothing.” I smiled warmly.

  “Come on, let me show you the farm.” He took my hand and led me down a track.

  “This place isn’t what I expected at all. I had imagined it to be like Galius’ ranch, much more open and sprawling,” I said, taking it all in.

  “The land is much more fertile here,” he explained. “It’s perfect for cattle.”

  Down in the farmyard, the buildings were in complete contrast to the house. They were huge and modern with vast expanses of concrete floors. Most of them were brand new.

  “Beyond that fence is the farmland, pretty much as far as the eye can see, there’s about twenty thousand acres in total.”

  “Golly! That’s a lot.”

  “It’s not that big by Ramian standards but it should be enough for what I want it for. So what do you think so far?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.

  “Well, it looks like you are set up as far as the farm is concerned,” I said, scanning the farmyard. I was no expert. “And I really like what I’ve seen of the house, I think with some work it could be incredible.”

  My answer clearly pleased him. “Do you want to go back and see the rest of it?”

  “Yes please!” His enthusiasm was infectious.

  We walked back up the track to the house. There were two other reception rooms downstairs, the lounge and another day room. Four bedrooms, three of which were a good size with a functional bathroom. The master bedroom was huge and double aspect. Like everywhere else, the walls and ceiling were white except where exposed oak beams ran up to the apex in the roof.

  “This is some bedroom,” I said walking across the room to look out of the window. I sat on the window seat and took in the view of the back garden. There was an orchard beyond the garden and a spectacular view of gently rolling hills beyond that.

  “At the moment this room shares the main bathroom but when I build the extension it will have an ensuite.” His plans would create a lovely bedroom which would be private from the rest of the house.

  Ahran came over and sat next to me at the window.

  “So you like it?” he asked me for the umpteenth time.

  “I do,” I said, smiling to myself. “It’s a beautiful place.”

  He pulled me onto his lap.

  “Would you be happy to come and stay here with me from time to time?” He really was trying hard not to push me.

  “Very happy,” I smiled and cupped the side of his face as I pressed my lips to his.

  He hugged me tightly.

  “I’d really like your input with the house.”

  “I’d like that too.” I was touched he wanted my involvement.

  “Talina couldn’t have been less interested,” he said with a bitter tinge to his voice.

  “I’m not Talina.”

  “No, you most definitely are not,” he said before kissing me on the nose. “You are smart, brave, beautiful and funny. You aren’t like any woman I’ve ever met before.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I’d hate to think there might be another me out there competing for your attention.”

  He chuckled. “Two Sophie McAllister’s, now that could be interesting,” he said with a glint in his eyes.

  Ahran’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He shifted me onto one knee a
nd answered it.

  After a brief conversation he hung up.

  “The tractor has arrived.”

  “Well let’s go and see it then,” I said, climbing off his lap.

  Ahran jumped up like an excited kid. I rolled my eyes. “Boys and their toys,” I mumbled, secretly enjoying every minute.

  We made our way back down to the farmyard to the massive hunk of machinery being unloaded from an even bigger transporter. It was red with a streamlined design and four enormous triangular caterpillar tracks for wheels.

  “Bloody hell, it’s enormous!”

  “It has to be, it’s got a lot of land to cover. It uses GPS to follow programmed routes of the area it is working on,” he said proudly.

  “So that thing operates without a driver?” Somehow it looked more menacing than any of the other vehicles I’d seen in Ramia, it was like something out of Mad Max.

  “It can do, it has dual operation. It will remove the need for a driver to sit for endless hours. For other jobs it can be operated manually.”

  “It really is impressive.”

  Ahran spoke to the delivery driver before he climbed up into the cab of his transporter, reversed out and drove off.

  “Do you want a ride?”

  “Yeah, why not?”

  Ahran helped me up into the cab and I sat on his lap as we looked at a number of computer screens on the display panel in front of us. He touched one of the screens and the engines roared to life.

  “Let’s see what this thing can do,” he threatened excitedly.

  I grabbed his arm in alarm as the mechanical beast lurched forward.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” I queried doubtfully.

  Ahran touched a couple of the screens again and we moved forward more smoothly.

  “Trust me, I’m a farmer,” he said into my ear.

  I laughed. “All the farmers I know are dirty old men.”

  “I can do dirty if that’s what you want?” he said with a devilish grin. I laughed again.

  He was never sexier than when he was being playful.

  Ahran put the tractor through its paces, handling the machinery like a pro. When he was satisfied he’d spent his money wisely we drove back into the farmyard.