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Chapter 12

Twelve

I was finally—finally!—donewith taxes. All that was left was to put the paperwork into an envelope and post it. Did I feel like doing that last step? Not at all. I was thoroughly done with this thing, and at the late hour, deemed it unnecessary to give it any further attention.

With the menace finished, my mind immediately jumped to the subject it truly wished to linger on: Jake. It had been incredibly hard to focus all day. Why was Jake so, so…Jake? Just this bundle of warm, kind man with razor-sharp intelligence. He was exactly the type of person I was attracted to, which I found wholly unfair. Jake was hard to resist.

Perhaps if he wasn’t open to courting—and he might not be after just escaping an awful marriage—he’d at least be open to being friends? I think he’d make a terrific friend.

Argh, enough. My bed called to me.

It was the sound that drew my attention. A voice, not polished, singing a melody I didn’t recognize. It piqued my curiosity, so instead of going up to bed like I’d planned, I opened my study’s window and looked out into the garden.

“The miasma is thick on the fields tonight

Not a creature to be seen

A land of desolation

Where should be fields of green

I call upon the healing winds that swirl inside

Clear the air I see, let it purify”

Jake.

No one else was about, which wasn’t surprising, considering the late hour. I suspected Jake was out there at midnight on purpose—to avoid a potential audience. Ara had pulled me aside after their lesson to warn me he was uncomfortable singing in front of others and to give him grace. He truly wasn’t a singer. His voice was only okay—not bad enough to make dogs howl for mercy, but not good enough to sing for an audience. I could see why he was so strongly hesitant to sing when people could hear him.

But there he was, singing away. Practicing when no one watched to get better at it. I found it truly impressive, this man’s tenacity. He was on a foreign planet, in a culture not his own, being told to do the thing he had no experience or confidence in. Most would have folded. They would have at least taken a few days to acclimate themselves, or had a nervous breakdown first.

Not Jake. Jake took it in stride. His entire focus was on carving out a new life for himself here. He didn’t stop, quaver, or let anything stand in his way.

My admiration for that mettle of his was through the roof. When I’d first come to this place, I’d struggled mightily for years. I had a feeling that in my shoes, Jake would have done a far better job. Still, no one should go through life alone. We all needed a support, at least one person to help things along. Jake had no one in this world to count on. I was determined to help him, to be the person I’d wished for so many years ago.

Something drew me to the garden. Some instinct, or curiosity. I couldn’t just shut the window and leave him to it.

Instead, I put a boot on the window seat and hopped out of the window, lightly landing on the hard packed dirt. Easy to do with my study on the ground floor. Jake didn’t seem to notice me, still singing and staring intently at the kitchen’s garden bed. The effect of his singing was obvious from here. The plants were much healthier, standing straight when they’d been wilted only minutes before. He might have been unsteady in his tune, but his magic worked like a charm.

I moved closer, not wanting to interrupt, but too entranced to not approach. My heart threatened to burst out of my chest, I was so excited and full of joy. I’d half resigned myself to being forced out of this place. I’d not thought there was any hope left.

But here was Jake, giving me that hope.

He stood tall under the night sky, moonlight glinting off his pale hair. He was beautiful, really, like artwork that had casually strode off its pedestal. My heart skipped a beat whenever I saw him, but it beat even harder now. Gods above and below, how was this man real? If told he was the result of a fever dream, I could so easily believe it. In that moment, I felt my heart tumble. Not falling in love, surely not that, but I could feel that first lurch as my heartstrings gave a twang.

His head came up and around, as he belatedly realized he wasn’t alone, and a flush touched his cheeks. Embarrassed? He shouldn’t have been. There was nothing to be ashamed of here.

“Don’t stop,” I encouraged with a smile. “You’re doing amazing.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away, still flushed. “I didn’t think anyone was awake to hear me.”

“I’m probably the only one.” I gestured toward the plants. “You’ve obviously gotten it down. The plants look healthy now. Why are you so shy about singing? It’s working splendidly.”

Jake looked back at me, this time not as pink in the cheeks. “Thanks for that. I was always dissuaded from singing. I mean, I know I don’t have a great voice, but overcoming that mental hurdle to do my job here is proving hard.”

I mentally aimed a kick at whoever had told Jake he couldn’t sing. Bastards. No one should have told him he couldn’t do anything, especially something he enjoyed. My heart ached with pity. “I think you know that even if you sounded like a dying cow, we’d welcome your singing.”

“Ha! Yeah, Ara said something similar. So long as the magic works, no one cares how I sound.”

Our words seemed only partially effective. Jake knew, logically, that it was fine for him to sing. Welcomed, even. But emotions were not ruled by logic, and I respected that Jake was working through the block as best he could.

I felt bad for pushing him like this. Surely he needed more grace to get his feet properly under him. I knew I would.

“Jake, if you need to take some time, it’s all right?—”

He shook his head before I could trot the whole sentence out. “No. No, the state of this place tells me there’s no time left. I can’t just sit about while people are literally starving.”

Still. “I don’t want to push you to the breaking point.”

At that, he looked me right in the eye. His determination blazed in an almost visible aura around him.

“I appreciate your concern, truly. It’s rare when people think about what I need or want. That said, Theon, there’s no way in hell Rehobath is going to fall under my watch. You and your people have greeted me with kindness. Especially in this unknown world, where I have no safety net, I appreciate that kindness more than words can express. The least I can do is sing, even if it makes me uncomfortable.”

“You have a spine of steel,” I murmured, mostly to myself.

Jake snorted. “That I do. I’d have folded well before now if that wasn’t the case. For that matter, you’re the same. I remember the story of how you took over this land.”

I ran a hand over my face. “You’re not allowed to use my naive self against me. I was young and cocky then. I honestly thought that with enough determination and work, I could thrive here. We had stable crops until the fields got hit.”

“Well, if it wasn’t for evil miasma, you likely would have.” Jake’s nose wrinkled up in distaste. “You’re in the right location for several staple crops. You’d have managed to make a decent living off farming up here if given a real chance at it.”

How the hell would he know? “Have you been doing research or something?”

“I talk to people,” he retorted primly. “They tell me interesting things.”

Jake was a businessman through and through. He couldn’t seem to help himself. I might have had a work contract for him to clear my lands, but I’d be a fool to not use his talents. First, though, I needed him to give us a fighting chance. I’d seduce him into helping me with business after that.

Wait. Brain, why seduce? That was the word you came up with? Really?

Then again…my crush was well established at this point. Perhaps my subconscious was onto something. Seducing Jake sounded like a fantastic idea because if I seduced him…well, I’d be able to keep him.

A memory flashed through my head from the day he’d arrived, in my bed, and how he’d felt under me. He’d been lean and firm, smelling like clean male skin and sun. If I hadn’t been so alarmed at finding a stranger in my bed, I’d have taken a moment to appreciate him more.

I firmly put the memory aside. Me. That’s not helpful. Revisit that later.

And yet…and yet the urge to reach out to him was there. I couldn’t seem to fully squash the impulse.

Instead, I shifted focus. “Jake, what can I do to help you?”

“Two things,” he said after a second of thinking. “First, I think I’d do better if I had some kind of accompaniment. Does anyone play an instrument that’s portable?”

I’d meant more on an emotional level, but oh well, I’d support him however I could. Thinking about it, his request made perfect sense. Of course a cappella would be difficult for him. Especially for someone not used to singing aloud. An instrument to accompany him would lessen his burden. I didn’t hesitate to offer. “I do.”

Jake perked up. “You do? What do you play?”

“Guitar.”

“Ohhh, that’s perfect. Um. Can I ask that you go with me?”

Silly man. “Jake, you were never going without me to begin with. I am your Knight.”

From the way he froze, he didn’t understand what that meant at all. Did they not have knights on his planet?

Seeing his confusion, I clarified. “When you go out into the field, I will always go with you as protection. I am your main bodyguard.”

“Uh, I’d like to point out I have two very nice bodyguards,” he said slowly, easing his way into what he really wanted to say, “and isn’t that a little backward? You’re the lord of this place, after all. Shouldn’t you also have protection?”

I shook my head, adamant on this point. Paranoia lurked in the background, jabbering at the idea of Jake in danger. I couldn’t even visualize that without feeling the stab of an icy dagger in my gut. “No. Without you, there is no duchy. You are my hope and my salvation.”

He didn’t seem to know how to respond. In fact, he was back to rubbing his neck and looking shy.

Jake looked cute blushing. I could make him blush more. It was damn tempting.

It was a touch corny to offer to be his Knight. Truth tell, only people madly in love or someone wishing to court another even offered. Would I tell him that? Not on your life. I didn’t want to give him any reason to argue the point. Not to brag, but I was the strongest fighter in my territory, and he’d be safer with me than anyone else. Plus, I yearned to have more time with him. It seemed I never got him for more than an hour in a day, and it wasn’t enough for me.

“What was your second thing?”

“Oh. Um.” He gave a slight shake of his head before answering. “I want to establish trade routes. Frankly speaking, only fixing the issue of the miasma won’t do any good long term. There must be commerce here to succeed. Besides, the businessman in me is itching to do some deals.”

That I could believe. Jake was not the type to do well just sitting about.

He also made a good point about commerce. I’d tried for decades to do something about it, but I just didn’t have the head for business. I’d hoped to seduce him into this, but if he was offering, I’d take it. “If you want to do business, I certainly won’t stop you. I don’t know how you’re going to start anything, though. We have nothing to offer.”

“Hmm, yes, that’s the point I’m struggling on. I think I need to know more about the market before making any plans. Which brings me to another question. Do you have any plans to travel into a major city in the near future?”

“Yes, I do.” More like, I had no other choice. “I must replace what was destroyed in the storehouse we lost to the miasma. It requires a trip to the capital.”

“Perfect! I’ll go with you. When will that be?”

“Hmm, likely next week. Say, five days or so. I need to prepare for the journey and do a few things here first. It takes a full three days of travel to go down to the capital.”

For some reason, Jake’s head canted sideways like he had a hard time believing this. “Three…days?”

What was with this reaction? “Does travel not work that way on your world?”

“Uhhh, no. I’m trying to remember the last time it took me three days to get anywhere. Huh. Well, this will be an adjustment. Okay, so it takes three days, so prep for the trip. How long will we be there?”

“Probably another two or three days. It’ll take time to make the bulk order and then have it ready to be picked up. There will be plenty of time for you to nose about the marketplace and get a feel for things.”

A satisfied smile graced his lips. “Perfect.”

I hoped to get him some more clothes, too. Something made for him and not whatever we could scrounge up. I’d have to keep that thought for later, after I found a way to afford it.

“After your lesson tomorrow, let’s sit together and practice,” I offered. “I don’t know the melodies you’re using, but if you’ll hum them for me, I can learn them.”

The look he gave me was quite judgmental. “You’re one of those, aren’t you? The type to be natural with music.”

I didn’t want to make him feel bad, but honesty compelled me to say, “Well, yes?”

Jake just sighed as if the world had deliberately ganged up on him somehow when it came to talents.

Personally, I looked forward to one-on-one time with him, to learning more about him. About the music of his world. It would surely be delightful.

“For now, it’s quite late.” I offered him an arm, much as I would a lady at a grand ball. “May I escort you to your room?”

His green eyes widened in surprise, then crinkled up. “Charmed, I’m sure.”

I’d expected him to laugh me off, but he took my arm. A small thrill went through me even with that soft, chaste touch, but it was chased with concern. I could feel the chill of his fingers even through my coat. He’d been out here too long. Northern summers were warmer, true, but the nights could still be cold.

“You’re chilled.” I put a hand over his, trying to share some of my warmth.

He looked up through his lashes, almost flirtatious. “I’ll warm up soon enough.”

Was that an invitation…? No, Theon, behave. Behave, dammit. Where did your resolve from fifteen minutes ago disappear to?

I shook the thought off and turned, leading him toward the back door. I would safely deliver Jake to his bedroom, and then I would go to my own bedroom, like a gentleman.

It was harder than it should’ve been.

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