Page 44 of Married to the Alien Mountain Man

“You just?”

“I just do not want you so far away, that is all. I wondered if there might be a way to move your ship closer to my property. So that when you are doing your repairs, you would be near me.”

Jaya’s lips parted. My ears picked up a soft but swift inhalation on her part.

“You want me near you?”

“Yes,” I said emphatically. “I will camp beside your ship when you sleep, of course. My tent is still packed and ready. But I must rise early and do things here during the day.”

Even one day seemed like a very long time to go without being near her.

I thought of all the thousands of days that awaited me after she left, and the world seemed to get just a little smaller. A little less bright.

“I don’t want you camping out near my ship,” Jaya protested. “You yourself said there are a lot of predators out there. What if something happens while I’m asleep?”

“I’ve spent nights in worse places,” I said grimly.

I would rather have spent every night for the rest of my life camping in genka-infested valleys than return to my uncle’s home.

Especially if those genka-infested valleys were where Jaya was.

“No, Oaken,” she said sternly. “No way. Now that I’ve seen how creepy those valleys are at night… I won’t allow it.”

“Forgive me for asking,” I said with a grin, “but how, exactly, do you plan on stopping me?”

Her mouth opened and closed several times. Then, throwing her hands in the air, she said, “Fine! I’ll move the ship!”

Surprise – then elation – poured through me.

“You can fly it?” I asked. “Even with the damaged parts?”

“I’ll need to do some repair work first,” she said. “A lot of the connections are blown from the strain on all the systems. But I should be able to do a short flight in the planet’s atmosphere. Do you have a place you want me to land it?”

“There,” I said at once, pointing to the fenced-in pasture closest to the house. I didn’t currently need that area for my herd.

“Alright,” she said. “Then let’s get to it.”

* * *

I worriedthat Nali might exhibit some of her usual laziness on our journey to retrieve Jaya’s ship, but surprisingly, she did not. When Lala removed herself from Jaya’s pocket and scuttled on the ground ahead, Nali hurried to keep up with her, as if she did not want the little bot to leave her behind. From time to time, Lala would say something to Nali, and Nali would bleat enthusiastically back at her.

“Those two are becoming fast friends,” Jaya said, glancing at me from the side as we walked through the rocks and the dust. “Just like us.”

My chest puffed. Jaya considered me her friend.

Somehow, this seemed even more significant than being her husband. Because marriage was something I’d simply offered her.

Her friendship was something I’d earned.

“Just like us,” I agreed, tipping my hat towards her.

Jaya was moving faster than last night. Between the better socks protecting her feet and the rest she’d gotten, we made much better time. It was not too long before we were rounding the pink outcropping of stone I remembered from yesterday. TheLavariyacame into view.

Jaya audibly sighed and, relief thick in her voice, murmured, “Right where I left her.”

She ran over to her ship, calling hastily back over her shoulder, “You don’t have to stay for this part, Oaken. I’ll bring her back to your place when she’s ready tonight!”

“I have already completed my daily chores,” I replied. I did not plan to leave her side if I could help it. Predators could be active during the day as well as the night. Besides, this would give Nali a good, long time to spend in her native habitat.

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