Page 23 of Wrangled By the Alien Rancher

Fallon looked real fucking proud of himself.

“That was a representation of my feelings since your arrival,” he said, chin raised and without a hint of embarrassment. “A self-portrait, since I could not be there to greet you this morning.”

A self-fucking-portrait.

Between this and the porn doodles, he’s a bonafide Van Gogh…

Sora, having powered through Fallon’s lunch like a champ, was now looking for more. Or maybe just looking for pets. Her shaggy black body pranced back and forth in front of me, tongue lolling out. Unable to hold back a smile, I knelt down and vigorously scrubbed her neck and behind her ears.

“You’re very good with her despite never having had a hound,” Fallon remarked, bending down beside me to join in the Sora lovefest. His big body was very close to mine, his bare arm brushing my shoulder.

“I’ve always loved animals,” I admitted.

I blinked. I’d never told anybody that before. There had been no point in telling my mom. She refused to have any sort of animal in the house because of potential messes or hair on the furniture. Telling my mom, or even my father or sisters, that I loved or wanted or hoped for something was always a surefire guarantee that I’d never get my hands on it. Ever.

“How come you never had one of your own? Since they exist on your homeworld?”

I risked a sideways glance at Fallon, wondering if, like I’d come to expect from those closest to me, he was looking to exploit some kind of vulnerability. But his big, handsome face was innocent and open, his eyes darkened from the white I’d seen before.

I stared into those eyes, suddenly entranced by the warmth of the shimmering colour I saw there. His eyes were a rich, dark brown all the way through, with lighter veins branching out from the centre. The exact colour of…

Terratribe II maple syrup.

What are the fucking chances.

“I did have a pet once. Kind of,” I found myself saying. I was shocked at myself. I’d never told anybody about Maple before. “She wasn’t a dog like Sora. She was a cat. I don’t know if you have anything like that here.”

“The word does not translate.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “That’s ok. They’re furry and four-legged like Sora, but a lot smaller and more skittish. They’re super cute. We brought them to Terratribe II from Old-Earth when we first colonized there. Anyway, I found a really young one on the back edge of our property and brought her inside one day when I was sixteen.”

Brought her inside secretly, knowing my mother would lose her goddamn mind if she found out. Which, of course, she did.

“I named her Maple,” I went on. “For the colour of her fur. She was such a tiny little thing. I had to hand feed her.”

Fallon looked right at me with those maple eyes, straight into my human fucking soul, and said, “Why did you not bring her with you? I would not have objected. If the warden is amenable, I will pay to have her transported here.”

No.

That was my immediate, internal response to my guileless husband’s generosity. Instant rejection. That sort of kindness just didn’t make sense. My own mother, when she’d come into my room and found Maple, had immediately dumped her outside somewhere while I’d been at school.

I looked for that cat every single morning and night for an entire year.

“I… I don’t have her anymore,” I said, hating the way my voice wobbled. God, it was only my second day here and I was turning into a complete fucking cry-baby. What was happening to me?

I stood, trying to create some distance between Fallon and me. But the big orange lug just stood right up beside me.

“I’ll go get you some more food,” I mumbled, snatching up the plate from the dust and retreating into the house.

12

DARCY

Outgoing Tablet Communication Darcy Dubois: Real talk. Is Silar super nice? Because Fallon is super fucking nice and I don’t know what to do about it.

Incoming Tablet Communication Cherry Dawson: Silar is the best, kindest man I’ve ever known.

Outgoing Tablet Communication Darcy Dubois: OK… Hey, also, wtf is with the white glowing eyes? I keep meaning to ask Fallon and getting distracted by other stuff. It always happens when he’s looking at me.

---