Page 23

The ranch house came into view as I crested the last hill. Simple, sturdy, built quickly after my brothers and I settled here. One bedroom, but only Sel had two. Our initial thought was to construct places with more room but we soon realized that bachelor orcs only needed one bedroom homes for now. We could expand them later.

Nothing compared to the grand places humans called homes, but it was mine. For now, it was Beth’s too.

Ebar slowed as I pulled him to a stop in front of the barn. A quick glance around eased a fraction of the tension in my chest. No tracks near the door meant no one had come looking. As far as I could tell, Beth had stayed put.

The crow friends still pecked away at the food. If strangers had come by, they’d be on the barn roof, cawing.

I dismounted but left Ebar standing in front of the barn. As soon as Beth had packed, we'd have to leave for town. I needed to be there before our guests started to arrive. Dungar would take care of their mounts and meet me in front of the saloon that rented rooms to tourists on the second floor.

The screen door slapped shut behind me as I stepped inside my kitchen with the bag of clothing in hand.

Beth stood in the hall shadows, staring in my direction. Her shoulders loosened when she saw it was me.

“You're back,” she whispered.

“All set.” I placed the bag of clothing on the table as she joined me. “Everything alright here?”

“Yes.” She added a nod. “I did the dishes and tidied up.”

“Thank you.”

“Did anyone in town say anything?” Her voice wavered. “Did they question why you were buying clothing in such a small size?”

“My aunt was curious, but I told her that I'd hired a young male, that he didn't have much clothing with him.” I fed her a half-smile. “She wants to meet you when we get back. If I know my aunt, she'll be offering to fix you up through her and Grannie Lil's new dating app before you know it.”

Beth's face pinkened. “No dating for me. I don't ever want to get married.”

That made my smile fade fast. My heart faded along with it. “I understand.” Sort of.

Not really.

No mate, ever?

“Anyway.” I struggled to keep the conversation going. “No one suspects you’re here.”

She let out a slow breath and closed her eyes for a second. A trace of tension stayed in her shoulders, but she nodded.

I took in her face, her stance. No sign of illness. No weakness or sluggishness. She looked too alive. Not like someone wasting away without medicine.

Say it. Just ask.

Instead, I gestured at the bag. “Those are for you.”

“Oh.” Lifting the bag, she peered into the top. “This is a lot. You didn’t have to?—”

“You’ll need a variety of things to wear. There's no laundry where we're going.”

“Oh, right. What about bathrooms? Showers?”

“We built those. The tourists won't rough it.”

“Yes, roughing it.” Her frown only deepened. “You said we'll be gone for a week. I can wear things a few times and wash out what I need to in the bathroom.”

“There’s enough. You won’t need to do that.”

“Except underwear. I need to keep my mam mound covers.” Her eyes sparkled. She wasn’t laughing, was she? Nah, she was just discussing her body parts.

“We don’t have anything like that.”