“That small group is now growing in numbers?”
He clears his throat. “You know more about warfare than I’m comfortable with, Birdie.”
I laugh softly. “I don’t really. Just what I’ve learned from school and what I have seen on the news. I don’t pay attention much, but I know some basics.”
“School? For women? I still cannot believe it.”
Rolling my eyes, I wish that I could look at him right now. I bet he has that smug look on his face and that smirk planted on his beautiful and soft lips.
“Yes. School. You know that I’ve taken college courses, smart-ass.”
He chuckles, then continues. “Logan came here because there are murmurings of them planning to strike and in doing so, they will personally come for me.”
“So, your men are coming here to protect you.”
“And you,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.
He doesn’t know that I know and I’m not going to let him in on that either. I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now, especially the way that his wife died. I don’t argue with him about it, or ask any more questions.
“Lonesable likes you, I think more than he likes me.”
Frowning, I reach out and touch the horse’s mane. “Oh yeah? How do you know that?”
“He told me, but he didn’t have to. He already scolded me for being unkind to you, and he was right in doing so. What happened today, shouldn’t have ever happened, and I do apologize.”
I almost choke on my own spit. Not only did this horse speak to him, which I can’t even begine to really fathom, but then he apologized to me.
A man… apologizing?
This man apologizing.
I didn’t think it was humanly possible for him to do so. But here he is, proving me wrong, as he seems to already do quite often. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’ve only known him days and he surprises me constantly.
We’re silent for a few moments, then I feel his hand move against my stomach. Looking down, I can’t help but smile as he surprises me again. There between his fingers is a piece of peppermint stick candy. I’d already eaten the first one he bought for me. I didn’t see him grab another.
“Colt,” I whisper as I take the sweet candy from his fingers.
“I spare no expense for you, Birdie. Even if it’s cheap stick candy meant for children,” he says softly, though I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Thank you,” I sigh, bringing it to my lips and closing my eyes as the strong mint touches my tongue.
Leaning back against his chest, I open my eyes as I watch the red desert in front of me. I can see the speck in the distance that is the main house and I wonder why he’s chosen to live way out here like a hermit.
“I was given this land for my family, as a thank you for my service to this country and my family’s future service. It is mine, no matter what happens with my position.”
“So, you haven’t always lived here?”
There is a moment of silence and his body tenses behind me. I think that I’ve messed up, I’ve reminded him of his wife, but then he relaxes and starts to talk again. Only then do I let out a sigh of relief.
“No, I lived in a completely different territory before the war. There was nothing left for me there once the war ended, so I came out here after I was given the land. Instead of staying closer to the larger cities of our country, I choose to work out here and just send missives and information back and forth.”
“Will you need to go to the cities?” I ask.
He hums softly. “We will. There is a ball in about eight weeks. It’s a celebration of our country’s birth. I’ll need to give a speech and we’ll dance and drink.”
“We?”
His hand flexes against my stomach, though it’s hard to feel over the corset. “Yes, Birdie, we. You will be by my side from now on, never to leave, not even for a moment.”
“How will you explain me?”
I wait as he pauses, though it isn’t for long, because it seems like Colton James has an answer and plan for everything.
“You’ll be my cousin from Bunafi.”
Wrinkling my nose, I tilt my head back to look up at him. “I’m sure that cousin would not be an appropriate term for what we do together and if anyone suspected…”
He doesn’t even flinch from my words. “Cousins do not marry and consort in your country?”
“Colt,” I cry out. “Gross. No. I mean, I guess some do. I had a whole history lesson on how they did that in the royal families and they had a heap of birth defects because of it too. It’s icky, Colt. Seriously, it is not better to stay in the family. It’s gross, and I refuse to let people think that I’m gross. I’d rather they think of me as a hired hooker, because seriously—ew.”
Colt’s body is shaking behind me and he bursts out laughing from my rambling. I don’t blame him at all, my rambling is a little bit ridiculous at best, always has been. Still, I shiver in disgust at the thought of him telling all the people at his fancy ball that I’m his cousin.
Gross.
He leans over, touching his lips to the side of my cheek. “Not my cousin then. Perhaps just a lady friend?”
I wrinkle my nose, not much liking the term lady friend either, but it’s infinitely better than cousin.
Still so very gross.
COLT
Lady friend is not the winner either, judging by the way her nose wrinkles at the term. I decide to table the topic for the moment, we can figure it out later,
