Chapter Seven

Zaya

I awoke to the smell of food and realized I was naked and alone in bed. Steele.

A flood of emotion reminded me of what happened last night. We'd had sex and promised to belong to each other. Then, we had sex again. While it seemed surreal, I didn't regret it. I had an undeniable connection with Steele and knew he was a man I could depend on.

Picking up my clothes, I went to use the bathroom. I was pleased to find the water pump was still sending water there. Some of it looked a bit rusty, and it was cold, but I still used it to wash up. Pulling on my pants and shirt, I followed the smell of eggs and toast to the kitchen.

Steele was pouring tea into two mugs on the table when I got there. He looked up and smiled at me with a tender light in his eyes. "How do you feel?"

I smiled at him and blushed, realizing I couldn't put it into words. I felt happy for the first time in years; I had just begun a whole new life.

Steele set the pot back on the cook stove. Turning back, he took me into his arms and kissed me with tender thoroughness. It seemed like he needed that as much as I did. "Let's sit down to eat while the food is warm."

I nodded, slid from his embrace, and took the seat across the table from him. There were scrambled eggs, some kind of meat strips, and buttered toast on my plate. I was pretty sure the eggs were from my chickens. The rest of the food apparently came from the supplies Steele had brought.

I took a bite. The eggs were good; they were not too dry and not too runny. "It was so nice of you to make breakfast," I told him with a shy smile.

"I don't require as much rest as an unenhanced human such as you, and I must ensure that you receive adequate nourishment. Breeding requires considerable energy."

"So, I am your breeder?" I frowned, wondering if this had been a mistake. Yet I yearned to join our bodies again.

"My sweet Zaya, you are far more than that. I was made to love you, and I expressed my love by breeding with you and caring for you. That couldn't happen with anyone else, Zaya." He looked at me earnestly.

I could see in his eyes that he seemed to really care for me. Everything happened so fast, but thinking back over it, I remembered how safe he'd made me feel when I was afraid. I looked at him and realized that I wouldn't feel safe at home alone if I had sent him away. Would he even go if I tried? No, I couldn't do that. I would be too vulnerable on my isolated ranch alone, and I would miss him terribly.

"I hope I can be the mate that you need. I've lived here alone for so long, yearning for company, and now, I feel like I don't know how to act. I want to be with you, but sometimes I don't want to be with anyone."

Steele looked at me thoughtfully, processing how he might answer. "Because you have lived alone for so long, it is logical that you may not have the social skills for a relationship such as ours, Zaya. Although I am part machine, I am also human. In fact, I am mostly human. If I do not recognize your need, then you should tell me what you require. Although I am on leave, I am still a protector with the job to do. At some point, I expect to go back to my job, which should give you ample time to yourself."

I nodded and busied myself eating. Not looking up from my plate, I said, "What about breeding? How will I not get pregnant? We hardly know each other. I know I'm not ready for a baby."

"That will not be a problem. My nanites are programmed to suppress sperm production until I reprogram them. I will not change that without your consent. We need time to process and adapt to our new relationship. We can only do this one day at a time. Would you like to show me around after breakfast so we can assess what we need to make your property more comfortable and productive?"

I looked up at him with a faint smile. He was so sweet I found it hard to disagree with him. He was nothing like the alien who kept me prisoner. Even though the treatments had receded the memory, it wasn't erased. I could still remember feeling trapped and angry because I didn't want to be there, and there was no escape.

Steele was the one who rescued me and brought me home. However unfathomable, he believed he loved me. Last night, when he was on me and pounding into me, there was nowhere else I wanted to be. He made me forget everything but him, and I had no regrets.

I was simply panicking because I had made an impulsive commitment to this cyborg. "That sounds good," I said. "We should probably start in the house to see that nothing's leaking and no little animals broke in while I was gone."

We finished eating in a comfortable silence. Taking our dishes to the sink, we washed them together, leaving them to dry in a metal drainer.

My ranch house is spacious, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Only the bathroom in the primary bedroom had running water and a working toilet. Each bedroom was neat, though dusty. Two of the bedrooms contained bunk beds, and the third a single bed. All had sheet-covered mattresses. There were closets and built-in drawers in each of them. All were dimly lit from the daylight filtering through the windows.

"This ranch has been in my family since before the war. We used to have bigger families. Now, there's just me," I paused. "And now you. Maybe one day we will talk about more." I added with a hopeful note in my voice.

"I look forward to that," Steele said quietly. "Right now, I think we need to see about getting lights working here. Even in daylight, the rooms are dimly lit. While it's not a problem for me, normal human vision requires more light than this."

I saw Steele looking at the wall in the bedroom with the single bed. "What's wrong?"

"There's a watermark where water has run down the wall. You probably have a roof leak." He pointed to a dimly lit corner.

Once I knew where to look, I could make it out faintly.

"I'll check that while I'm assessing the solar panels on the roof.So far, things look pretty good in here."

"There's just so much to do. I need to harvest the garden, get rid of the weeds, and harvest as much grass hay as possible for the winter. Normally, I would've been doing that every day had I been here," I told him.

"You cut it by hand?"

"Yes, I don't have any machinery. I do everything by hand," I explained.

"I can probably borrow a machineso that we could cut it all at once and gather it up," Steele said.

"That would be a big help," I said gratefully. "Now, we should probably go outside to the garden and see what I can salvage there. At this point, I am not sure there will be enough for winter." I told him as we left the bedroom, heading outside.

"You don't have to worry about that, Zaya. I will make sure we have sufficient supplies if we need them," he assured me.

I grabbed a couple of baskets from the kitchen on the way out.

When we got to the garden, I wanted to cry when I saw how overgrown it was with weeds. However, I could see there were still vegetables that could be salvaged between the thick growth of weeds. The fence was still intact so that goats and wild animals had not gotten in to feast on my hard work. My garden tools were also where I had left them.

I opened the gate, and we went inside to get a closer look. Unfortunately, it looked even worse close up. As I looked around, I decided just to pull weeds around the vegetable plants as I harvested them.

"I know how to do this. I can help you," Steele said. "Where would you like me to start?"

"Do you mind digging the potatoes? I'm not sure I'm up for that today," I told him. "I thought I would pick the beans and start pulling onions."

We worked through the morning, picking and pulling vegetables. With Steele's help, we got through half the garden by the time we were ready to break for lunch. Before we went inside to get something to eat, Steele and I walked around the outside of the house to check for possible needed repairs.

The roof appeared to be in good condition, but there was a bird's nest in the eave outside the bedroom with the watermark on the wall. We both thought that was likely where the watermark came from. However, the ancient solar panels on the roof were badly damaged.

"Do you have a ladder?" Steele asked. "I'll need to get up there to remove those panels so I can replace them."

"Yes, there is a heavy-duty ladder in the barn."

"I'll look for it after we get some lunch," he said.

We went back to get the baskets and vegetables to carry into the house. As we went inside together, I remember thinking that it had been really nice to have someone working beside me to chat with as we worked. While Steele was somewhat stoic at times, he was also good at anticipating our needs.

It didn't seem possible that the more time I spent with him, the more attracted I became to him.