Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
She walks past me and around behind the counter. She goes on tiptoe to kiss her father’s cheek. “I got the new hinges from the blacksmith,” she says. “He says they’re going to last even longer than the others.”
“Good,” he says. “Take them to the back, and make sure they’ve got their own carton label.”
She nods and picks the box up again, glancing over at me. “Hi,” she says, before disappearing into the back room.
“She likes you,” her father says to me.
“How can you tell?”
“She didn’t ignore you completely,” he says. “Most of the men in this colony cannot get so much as eye contact out of her. She treats them like they’re less than dust on her boots.”
“Is there a reason for that, sir?”
He presses his lips together, and I know there’s something he doesn’t want to say. “Her mother passed when she was born, and I’ve been making sure she’s safe ever since. Call it sheltered if you like. I don’t care. That’s my baby. Last time a guy came sniffing around and wanted to touch her, he ended up with every bone in his fingers broken. Had to wear a cast that kept them splayed like a frog for two months.”
“I see,” I say. “Well. Seems to me like I’d best build my house before anything goes any further.”
He nods gruffly.
I take some notes on the piece of paper with the short pencil. “Thank you, sir,” I say offering the pencil back to him. He waves it back to me. “They’re branded,” he says. “Tax write-off.”
“Smart,” I say.
“Do you have the funds to get those materials?”
I do have some money, though it wasn’t obtained in a legal way. Alara dropped me on the other side of the galaxy with nothing. Not even a pair of underwear. I’ve been working my way toward Mara’s colony for weeks, laboring on ships and taking money fights. I’ve got about enough to buy a patch of land, too. From her father’s perspective, I’m just the same as every other pioneer-minded man who lands here.
“I reckon I do, sir, and if I don’t, I’ll work until I do.”
“You need some labor work, you can get in touch,” he says. “I know most of everyone around here. Just make sure you keep your hands off my girl until there’s wedding rings being exchanged.”
I cock my head to the side, and lift my tone so I sound curious in an innocent way.
“Why are you so sure I am interested in your daughter?”
He gives me a flat look. “I saw her walk you to the tractor, and I saw you all go behind it. Don’t do that again unless you’ve got a house to offer her.”
“Understood,” I say, giving him a small salute.
“There’s plenty of good men around here, and she’s a good woman. I won’t be giving her away to anybody who doesn’t deserve her. You can be sure of that.”
“I understand, sir,” I say.
“You’ve still got all your fingers too,” he says. “You should be grateful for that, because I’m not sure you deserve ‘em.”
“I will do my best to earn my fingers, sir,” I say. I am enjoying this exchange, even with its violent, threatening undertones. I like this man. I think he likes me too.
* * *
I think about that interaction as I leave. He didn’t ask me a lot of questions about myself, really. But he seemed to come to a decision anyway. Interesting how that happened. A lot of human interaction is done in the spaces between words. Especially where men are concerned. You get sized up in an instant.
I really thought that I was going to have a hard time dealing with the basics of the human experience, being surrounded by limited beings who do not know how to properly live. But now that I find myself immersed in their world, I am surprised by their sophistication. There is more in the subtleties of their communication than I would have ever imagined.
I go away with the intention of doing as he says, more or less. I do need a home to bring her to. He’s right on that. I want it to be a place she will feel at home. I want to reclaim my pet. I want to house her well. I want to have her by my side for the rest of our lives. There is a lot to be done before that happens. The days of swinging into a reality then abandoning it a moment later are over. I have to stay here and build in the old-fashioned way. Nothing will form itself around my desire simply because I have it.
I place the order for lumber with Mr. Bones. He is glad to take my money, and Mr. Gut takes almost all the rest. I find myself with a reason to go back to Mara’s father and petition him for some work.