Page 62 of Resisting the Alien Rider

It was my name.

“She does love you.” Oaken said from behind me.

“I did not encourage her,” I told him. “She did it all on her own. And she can be very stubborn.”

Oaken’s next laugh was quieter. “Sounds like she will suit you well.”

“I…” My throat tightened. I brushed a stray curl away from Magnolia’s brow. “I truly did not want to take her from you.”

“You cannot take something that is freely given. She’s given her love to you. She’s made her choice.”

With a sigh, I returned to my chair beside him.

“It hurt her too, you know,” I told him, needing to defend her. “She did not want to break her promise to you. She is so good. She has integrity that you would not believe.”

“I do believe it.” When I met Oaken’s eyes, they were not white with emotion. They were that cool green I’d known for so long. That green I’d never forgotten. And there was kindness in that green, though I did not feel that I deserved it.

“And I also believe this, Garrek.” He quieted for amoment, staring at the floor as he gathered his thoughts. “I believe that I deserve a wife who could actually grow to love me.Onlyme. Maybe I’m naïve, or maybe I’m a jealous fool. But that is what I want.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Do you know what I thought when I first saw her?”

“No.”

“I did not think, ‘Oh, what a beautiful female. How I desire her!’ Of course, sheisbeautiful. But I noticed it in such a distant sort of way. Because the only thing I could really think when I saw her was, ‘This is someone beloved by Garrek. This is someone precious to the only family I have left. This is the wife of the person who saved me.’ And I loved her then, instantly, as I would love your wife and nothing else. I do not think I am even capable of wanting her as my own wife, now. Because from the first moment that I saw her, I thought of her as yours.”

He squeezed my shoulder, then let his hand drop.

“So relieve yourself of this morose guilt, Garrek. I find that I have very little patience for it. I do not want her if she does not want me. You’re free. Love her and marry her and don’t you dare waste a moment of that happiness.”

“You,” I choked out, not wanting to believe his words. I wanted punishment, pain,something.“You are too reasonable. Can’t you at least hit me or something?”

“Hit you?” Oaken grinned. “You are older than me. I don’t want to fight an old man. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“I am only six cycles older than you!” I glared thenpointed my tail at his boot. “And you’re down to only one good leg.”

“It still would not be fair.”

“You forget one crucial thing,” I told him. He raised his brows questioningly. “I have Killian on my side.”

His grin widened, and he shook himself dramatically.

“Alright. You win. I would not wish to cross that child even with both my feet working and a knife in each hand.”

“Now that he knows you don’t plan to steal Magnolia away from him, he’ll love you,” I told him. “And he’s ferociously loyal to those he loves.”

Oaken’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Sounds like somebody else I know.”

The ferocious childin question returned after night had fallen. He got the bracku and shuldu ensconced in the empty pasture, brought them fresh water, combed them and cared for them.

Then, he came through the door.

Actually, he crashed more than came. He was absolutely overloaded with bags and poles and leather, so much so that when he first tumbled into the cabin, the only things visible were his legs and his hair.

“She’s alright,” I said quickly when I saw him careen violently towards the door to the room Magnolia and I occupied. He stopped, and from behind the things he held, I heard him sigh with relief.

“What’s all this?” I asked, rising from my chair beside Magnolia. She hadn’t gotten any worse since this morning, which I hoped was a good sign. But even so, I’d been unwilling to leave her. Oaken, whose foot I’d helped set in a splint, was out checking on his herd with a makeshift crutch after being away for so long.

“You told me to bring the things,” Killian said, his voice muffled by the pile. Without ceremony, he dumped it all on the floor.

“I told you to get Magnolia’s bag,” I reminded him. He had done so, it seemed.

---