Page 43 of Alien's Heart
“Apparently not so difficult.” Nox confessed to having spotted his uncle in the station when he arrived on Corra.
“You think someone recognized you? You were wearing a purple velvet coat. Just saying.”
“I was meant to be a distraction. It worked.”
“You walked away from your whole life.”
“For Harmony, yes.” He had no reservations. The choice had been obvious and no choice at all. A spot inside his chest ached. He carefully directed all his thoughts away from his cousin, from his only friend, and the gaping hole in his life where she used to be. “I miss her, but it was the correct action. After every fight, she took me out for shaved ice.”
Often his jaw was too tender to chew. Instead, he would hold the cold treat against his face until the ice melted into slush. Nox smiled at the memory.
“Tell me about her,” Ruth said, snuggling against his side.
They traded stories until the sun finally emerged.
ChapterThirteen
Ruth
The mechanic metthem at the vehicle in the morning. A new hose got them on the road again but the mechanic stressed that the engine didn’t have that many more miles left. It’d need to be rebuilt or replaced. Awesome. She’d start scraping together the pennies now.
Maybe there was something on the farm that she could sell. Ruth thought of the barns stuffed with old, broken-down equipment. She doubted any of it worked but selling it for scrap was possible.
They finally made it back to the house by mid-morning. Other than a few fallen branches, everything looked like they left it. No disasters.
Nox’s wuap ran out to greet him, complained loudly, rubbed against him, and then trotted off to the backdoor. She turned and glared at them from the porch.
“Little Hunter is displeased with us,” Nox said. “The storm frightened her.”
“She wants breakfast.” Ruth’s stomach rumbled at the word. “So do I.”
Inside the house wasn’t as great as the outside. The roof leaked and bits of wet plaster fell in the hall.
“You did not inform me that the roof was compromised,” Nox said.
“It’s missing a few shingles. There’s a tarp.”
Nox nudged a chunk of plaster with the toe of his shoe. “Yes. Very effective.”
“Look, I don’t have the money for a new roof and I couldn’t find someone to replace the shingles. Social outcast, remember?”
“You do not need someone. You have me,” Nox said, sounding quite insulted that she had tried to hire a repair person.
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll find someone.”
“You have me,” he repeated, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “This is our home.”
Stunned, Ruth struggled to find words.
“Speechless. I have that effect,” he said in a smug tone and ambled away, Little Hunter at his heels.
She didn’t want to think too hard about what it meant when Nox called the housetheirhome. He called her his mate but they didn’t make any promises, so she wasn’t sure how seriously to take him. Nox could be charming and persuasive. He wasn’t the type to say something he didn’t mean but he certainly knew how to bend words to get his way.
And he certainly wanted her.
His desire hadn’t vanished in the morning light. Neither had hers, but she was getting distracted. The point was…she wasn’t certain if there was a point. She enjoyed herself yesterday, despite the drama in town, the argument, and the hassle of the storm.
She was smitten. There was no getting around that. At the height of the storm, Ruth felt reassured with Nox, trusting that he followed her instructions. He didn’t argue that the storm was no big deal or that the Sarl house needed to be secured. He accepted her expertise on the matter.
