7. Rake

Chapter 7

Rake

S tella thinks she's going to scare me away with talk about her loud personality or how difficult it will be to care for her while she is pregnant.

But that isn't going to happen.

I head downstairs and make my way out the front door, thinking of my dazzling female and the way she interacts in such an animated fashion. The more time I spend with her, the luckier I realize I am. I've been dreaming of starting a family line for the last two years.

I'm ready.

She's not loud but instead confident, and her voice is lovely and clear. And I am honored to be the male to care for her while she brings our new offspring into this world.

Stella has not been formally introduced to the ranch hands, but there's plenty of time for that later. She was scared at first when she met Lorn but remained gracious to my ranch manager. This is important because I need a bound who treats my employees, family and friends with respect. I assumed she would be this way, and I was right in my initial assessment.

Yes, she was recently fired and kicked out of her last position. She claims unfair treatment by the community leaders, but there's the possibility that she's an unreliable narrator and that she was the actual problem in that situation. But I believe her story, which holds a ring of truth. It's obvious from the time I've spent with her today that she is a being with a high code of ethics and morality and I believe her claims that she was an honorable human stuck in a bad situation.

And she truly understands why I want to stay here at the ranch. She knows this isn't a normal job but instead a lifelong commitment and a promise to my ancestors. I feel close to her already.

It helps that she had an immediate affinity for the animals we raise. She enjoyed tending to the riding beasts. We spent time with the pyrotaur that was ill and lying in the stall, awaiting the arrival of the Doctor. Lorn was personally working with this beast because he'd raised it from a foal.

When we moved on toward the office in the barn, she cried out with joy when she discovered the New Earth pets that Lucy recently talked me into taking.

Stella swiftly took in those small beasts and treated them with such care. This also gives me an understanding of how she would then treat our future offspring, or how she would treat other beings and the other beasts under our care. After all, she is a teacher, a professional who teaches young children on her planet. I am impressed.

Stella brought the "kittens" into our bedroom. Not the best location in my opinion, but she insisted. She knows these beasts better than I do so I did not contest this plan.

I return to work while she naps; it gives me comfort knowing she's safe.

Finally, the workday ends.

The animals are all fed and bedded for the night. The veterinarian has left and my sick pyrotaur is asleep, doing much better. All the ranch hands have returned from a last check of the fencing. It was a busy day. I close the barn and return home as the suns set.

While I was gone, I was unable to communicate with Stella, which was troubling. She was nearby, in the ranch house, but I don't like that I wasn't able to reach her easily or that she couldn't get in touch with me in case something happened. My female is so new to the area, she doesn't have the proper emergency numbers and doesn't know anyone yet in my family. I'm going to need to fix that quickly.

I stride back across the field and over the drive and enter through the front door.

Faint sounds emanate from the back of the kitchen, letting me know that Stella is downstairs. But I do not pursue her yet; I've got filth and dirt all over me from that last fall I took in the mud when I wrangled the sick pyrotaur back into her stall. I rush upstairs to wash and change into clean clothing.

I enter the bedroom and take the time to look around because things have changed.

My whole life I've lived alone in either a room in the main ranch where I grew up, or in the shack here on this ranch when I first arrived. And now in this room, in the domicile I built. I thought I enjoyed having this space to myself, but I continue to remain pleased at the thought of Stella sharing this space with me. Sharing my bed and this entire domicile.

The cage is empty, letting me know she brought her tiny beasts with her downstairs.

I toss my belt to the ground and take off the pants and underwear and shove them in the wall unit. The cleaning bot follows behind, busily scrubbing the mud I've trailed on the floors. I know it will also grab my belt, shine the buckle for me and correctly put it away.

Bottles of Stella's odd human products are everywhere in the bathroom. I don't know what they're all for, but she does smell good, so I assume they work.

I use the cleansing unit to wash away the grime and step out clean and dry, then stride naked into the closet.

She's unpacked completely which is a good sign. If her clothes were still in the suitcase and she'd only taken out enough to wear today, that would be bad. Except I frown at her clothing, because it's all human. There are some skirts, pants and shorts similar to what I'm used to females of my own species wearing, but the tops are all wrong. That extra fabric that covers her arms and chest is odd. No Hyrrokin female dresses like that, anywhere on the planet. And she has those strange human foot coverings that the other humans I've met also wear. Again, very odd, but I suppose I'll have to get used to it, because her feet are very delicate.

As I dress, I plan out how I will make sure Stella has appropriate clothing and a new tablet.

I pull on comfortable pants with another belt, readying for dinner with the men in the bunkhouse, then make my way downstairs.

My beautiful human female sits on the floor, cross-legged near the dark windows to the front of the house. One kitten is on her lap and the other cavorts nearby. The only problem with this scene is that she still wears entirely too much fabric.

She glances up at me as I pound down the steps and lets out a gasp of surprise. "Oh good. I was wondering if I should go out looking for you in the barn. I was worried because it was getting late."

I take her hand and help her to stand. The small beasts run around our feet.

"You look much happier."

She bends down to pick one up and holds the small ball of fur in her arms. "Yeah, I was wilting. I really do get tired and I feel so much better after that nap. Sorry. I promise I'm not normally like this, but I was noticing for maybe the last month that I'd come home from work and take a nap immediately, which is unlike me. I guess I thought I was working harder than normal and needed more sleep? But instead, it was because I was pregnant. My body needs more sleep because I'm creating a whole new person."

I pick up the other small beast and hold it in my arms. It gazes up at me in wonder. "You really didn't know?" I question.

She smiles. "Completely unexpected but a good surprise. I don't even know yet if it's a boy or a girl."

"I will take you to the med lab to get you started on appointments if you'd like."

"In town?"

"No, we can do this here. There is a private med lab on the ranch. It is adjoined to the bunkhouse so that anyone on the ranch can use it too."

"Oh my gosh, that's amazing. You…you paid for a private med lab?"

"Yes, and it was installed recently. I decided it was a good way to recruit ranch hands, knowing they'd have excellent health care nearby. It takes over an hour to get to town from here, and during the rainy season it's difficult to make it out to town and impossible for a hover craft to land."

"That was very generous of you."

I shrug and use a claw to pet the small beast. It closes its eyes halfway and makes a vibrating sound in its chest. "Both of these beasts look identical."

"I can tell them apart. They are both black, but this one has white paws and a small white mark on its face. The one you are holding is all black."

I nod in agreement, finally noticing this small detail. "Where would you like to eat dinner?" I question.

"I'm not sure, but I am hungry."

"You have two choices. We can stay here and make something again from the food dispenser, or you could go with me and meet all the staff that are on this ranch, and we could eat dinner together with them in the bunkhouse. I promise the food there is good and it's clean."

She bites her lip. "That's where you usually eat dinner each night?"

"Yes, and I often eat lunch there too. You're worried you'll be scared again?"

"Yes, I'm worried I'll embarrass myself in a group like that and they'll think that I don't like them, which isn't true. It's just that I'm still new here, and sometimes…"

"You remain scared of our appearance?"

"Yes, especially when I meet someone new, or there is a group of you."

"Do you want to try to eat with the other males tonight or do you want to stay and eat here? Either way, it's up to you. I want you to be comfortable."

"Thank you." She takes a deep breath. "I want to eat with you and the workers in the bunkhouse." Then she lifts the tiny beast with a spot of white and gives it a kiss. "But first, we need to put these babies away in their crate."