Page 46 of Married to the Alien Mountain Man

She seemed happy.

“Ascension protocols engaged,” she said as Lala sat the round ball of her body on a curved spot on Jaya’s main control board. “Systems check.”

“All systems besides sonic recalibration are functioning within expected parameters,” Lala chirped.

Around us, the powerful thrum of engines vibrated.

“Alrighty, then,” Jaya said. She craned her neck to grin at me. “Giddy up!”

My guts seemed to slowly rise, then tumble back down all at once as the ship lifted off the ground.

“Lala, activate the displays, please,” Jaya said. I jerked in my seat as a huge swath of the front of the ship lit up, showing me my mountains from an angle that I’d never seen before. We were among them, rising above them, the peaks shrinking below us.

The sky was hot and blue and we were in it. The world below dropped away.

And the view was magnificent, and it was breath-taking, and it was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

But…

But it did not compare to seeing Jaya now. I watched her as she worked, so capable, so strong, and felt awe for her slip between my ribs like a blade.

This was where my wife was meant to be.

A little part of me was punctured by that truth. The selfish, secret part that had already begun to wish so desperately that she might stay.

But I could not offer her anything as remarkable as this. My ranch was not a ship.

And I was not her fate.

Jaya twisted to look at me again, and she was smiling so beautifully. Above that smile, her eyes searched mine expectantly.

She wanted to see my reaction to the flight.

She wanted me to enjoy this.

So I punched down the pain and I smiled right back. I managed to croak a single word.

“Magnificent.”

Because she was.

19

JAYA

After I brought my ship to land in what was essentially Oaken’s backyard, we entered into what should have been a comfortable routine. I slept in my ship at night, and Oaken and I often spent at least some moments together during the day. Truly, I had no complaints.

Except…

Except Oaken seemed to be getting quiet on me. And I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. I mean, he was still his polite, lovely, generous self. He brought me food and water and was constantly making sure I wasn’t too hot, too cold, and did I bring my hat out here?

But his smiles seemed fewer. Conversations between us felt heavier. I finally got to see the true colour of his eyes – the most beautiful dark green I’d ever seen, brightening to a cool, lively mint in the middle – as if he was exerting some kind of inner control on himself that he hadn’t bothered with when we’d first met.

It made me want to tear my fucking hair out.

And the strangest part was, he wasn’t even avoiding me. If anything, he was doing the opposite. Between chores, he lurked near my ship, watching me as I worked, but not speaking.

I missed the sound of his voice. And I hated that I missed it. Because if I already missed it now, when the big green guy was only a few metres away, what the hell was I going to do when I left this planet behind for good?

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