That sounded familiar, but it left a bad taste in Jake’s mouth. “Insightful of her,” he said, his scorn ringing clear. “Just one more thing to use us for.”
“It’s not like that,” Shawn said, a little too sharply, as he straightened up in the chair. Jake wondered at the strength of his retort. “Angel’s a lot like Monica. Neither of them like the way things have turned out, and they do their best to counter the effects of women like Darla Cain and her friends. But Darla has been here a long time; she’d built herself a little kingdom before any of us arrived. The power she wields over the council is vast, and after a year, Angel is only starting to make a dent in it, though it’s been hard.” He lifted a shoulder and sighed, then continued in a calmer voice. “Soon Monica will be a member too, and together they’ll have more influence over the others. They’re not all cruel, they’re just afraid of Darla.”
Jake nodded. He could relate to that fear.
“How long have you known them? Monica and her friend, I mean. You make it sound like you’ve known them for years,” Jake blurted, without thinking.
“I have, but the details will have to wait for another time,” Shawn said as he got to his feet. “You’re tired, Jake. We’ll talk again tomorrow. We still have to finish our tiebreaker game.” He set the chess board on the chest of drawers in the corner and went to the door.
Suddenly reminded of the late hour and his own weariness, Jake yawned and nodded.
“Get some sleep,” Shawn said with a friendly grin.
“Yeah, good night,” Jake muttered as Shawn left him to consider everything they’d discussed.
Jake lowered his head to his pillow and pulled the blankets over his shoulders, while his mind turned to the beautiful woman who temporarily owned him. Usually, now, he only felt dread when a woman touched him, uncertain about what kind of torment she would put him through for her entertainment. Yet everything about this situation seemed different from what he’d grown accustomed to in Darla Cain’s care. He would’ve been punished a half-dozen times already for his words and actions the last two days if he were still in Darla’s domain. If Shawn were to be believed, life on this ranch would be as close to normal as any of them had experienced since before the wars. He wasn’t sure he could believe that.
Jake yawned again, and his eyelids dropped as if weighted down. He turned over on the bed, shifting under the blankets, and sighed. He was too tired to think of all the possible ways this could be an elaborate lie. Darla liked to play games, but this didn’t feel the same.
And Monica…
Yeah, he thought, she’s beautiful, but she still owns slaves. Life might be good here, but don’t get your hopes up. You can’t stay anyway. If this all proved to be real, God only knows how much he would want to remain here. Then, perhaps, he could heal and learn to be whole again, not the confused, terrified, fragmented man—no, slave—he had become.
4
Three days after his arrival, Jake felt well enough for Shawn to give him a tour of the homestead.
“What do you think?” Shawn asked, waving his arm to indicate the work already completed on the house.
As he considered his reply, Jake eyed a group of three young women who had been studying him from afar. They stared right back at him, shared whispers, and giggled. Jake frowned and turned away. Shawn’s voice receded as Jake’s chin dropped, his eyes closed, and his hands balled into fists. He shivered and took a deep breath, battling almost two years of indoctrinated fear.
Shawn’s hand on his shoulder made him jump.
“Ignore them, Jake,” he said in a quiet aside, while tilting his head toward the women. “They’ll get tired of your newness soon enough.”
Jake nodded and tried to do as Shawn suggested, but the young women made it difficult. Despite his unease, he still answered Shawn’s question with a hint of excitement.
“I think it’ll be an easy job,” Jake said, visually inspecting the framework already in place. “I’m surprised so many of the ranch buildings are already up though.”
“Yeah,” Shawn replied.
“Why didn’t she build her house first?”
“Monica wanted to be sure to have beds for the single men, the guards, and the families with the dozen or so kids living here. Altogether, there’s about sixty of us. So, the bunkhouse apartments were first. Then, as you can see,” he waved a hand around the dooryard, “the barn, outbuildings, and most of the fencing came next.”
“And she saved her house for last?” Jake asked with raised brows, an air of incredulity infusing his tone.
Shawn nodded. “Yep. It’s so typical of her to think of her own comfort after everyone else’s.”
“You’ve worked for her for a while then?” Jake couldn’t help the question, though just like his inquiries the night before, he didn’t know why he asked. He kept reminding himself he was not interested in Miss Avery, but his curiosity about the woman, who for the next few months held his life in her hands, got the better of him.
“I’ve known her for years,” Shawn said with a smile. “Since before the wars. Her whole family were good people. Monica is too.”
He’s never known life as a real slave then. Jake’s ribs squeezed, and an envious knot tugged at his gut. Lucky bastard.
He didn’t reply to Shawn’s comment as he glanced at the three women still staring at him: two blondes bracketing a brunette with long straight hair. The one in the middle winked at him, and he stifled a groan as dread trickled down his backbone like ice along his flesh. He averted his gaze and replayed Shawn’s last comment.
Good people, he thought as Shawn led him toward the back of the construction site and away from the ogling women. Dr. Beck had told him something
