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“Hmm. I see.” I thought about that for a moment, comforting myself with the fact that at least I had not been the only one to embarrass himself at his own wedding. “Do you have any other tips for me? About having a human wife?”
“The soft parts on their chests are not called udders,” he said.
“Of course they aren’t,” I said, giving him an odd look. “I read the book! I know all about breests!”
“Breasts,” he corrected. “If you’ve read that cursed book then why are you even asking me for advice?”
I thought about how I’d interpreted the book’s section about kissing and sighed.
“Well, it seems to have led me ever-so-slightly astray already.”
Silar gave a crackly snort that could have been judgmental but I chose to interpret as one of camaraderie.
“A man could read a thousand books on human women and never be any closer to actually understanding them. You’ll have to learn through trial and error and making a complete fool of yourself.”
“Is that what you’ve done?” I asked, unable to imagine grumpy Silar tolerating feeling like a fool so consistently, especially in front of his precious wife.
But he astonished me with his instant, honest answer.
“Yes.”
Well. I could not tell if that was encouraging or not.
The rest of the ride passed in relative silence, nothing but the steps of our three shuldu, the occasional creak from the wagon, and the soft breathing of the human women to mark the quiet.
Already, I could pick out Darcy’s breath from among the other two without even having to turn around. I still did not think she was asleep, but every time I turned to look at her, she still had her eyes closed and her head tipped back, her arms crossed over her front.
When we reached Silar’s ranch, Silar dismounted and then hoisted himself up on my wagon’s running board. Cherry was still fast asleep. Without speaking or making any kind of noise, he placed a large hand upon the side of her throat, running his thumb along the bone of her jaw, back and forth, until her eyes fluttered open.
“Howdy, husband,” she murmured as her gaze focused on him. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
Instantly, Silar tensed, leaning his face closer to hers.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Nothing. It just means I’m happy to see you, that’s all.”
Silar brushed his thumb against her skin once more before collecting her hat from where she’d lain it in her lap. With incredible gentleness, he placed it atop her head.
The tenderness between them made my throat tighten. I glanced at Darcy. Her eyes were open now as well. She caught my gaze and smiled. It was not as easy a smile as Cherry’s, though, and I could not understand why.
I wanted to worry, then soothed myself with the reminder that Darcy did not yet know me like Cherry knew her husband. Besides, I was much easier to get along with than somebody as churlish as Silar. If he could make his human wife love him then by the great blue blazes, so could I.
Despite Cherry’s protests, Silar held fast to her as she got out of the wagon. He took one of the bags as well. Apparently, the bag was full of things Cherry had been meant to bring with her when she’d first arrived. He stood quietly, dutifully, to the side, holding his wife’s bag as she waved at Magnolia, now awake, and Darcy.
“I’ll come visit you guys. Or you can come here,” Cherry called up. “I’ve also got my comms tablet so you can message me or call me anytime. Whatever works.”
After the goodbyes were said and tablet communication signals were established between the three of them, we continued on our way.
The sun was setting by the time we reached my property. On one horse at a good pace, I could have arrived home much more quickly. But I didn’t dare drive the shuldu any faster than their careful clip. Silar’s comment about the wagon tipping was not unfounded, and I would have rather reached our destination in the dead of night than risk anything happening to the two females inside.
I leaped out of the wagon to open the gate nearest the house – a gate newly-built since so much of my fencing had been ruined during a recent stampede of my cattle – and led the shuldu and the wagon through. Securing the gate, I unhitched Kolt and Reesha, then hurried around to the side of the wagon to see that Magnolia was already stepping onto the running board. She was not as tall as Darcy, with much shorter legs. I held out my hand to help her down.
“Thank you!” she said, taking it and hopping to the ground with a little “oof!” sound and a cloud of dust dispersing around her boots. I eyed the wagon and the height of the running board critically. The wagon, like everything else here, had been built to Zabrian proportions. Even though Darcy was tall for a human female, I wondered if some things would still not be sized correctly for her.
As I puzzled over that thought – which furniture I might have to break down and rebuild – Darcy appeared at the side of the wagon. Her booted foot went down to the running board where her ankle appeared to buckle. She wobbled.
I reacted as quickly and instinctively as I would have if I had been the one about to fall. My hands shot up to her waist, and in her moment of imbalance her hands went to my shoulders, pale fingers gripping tight. Her touch on my skin was nothing like Magnolia’s a moment before. With cool, smooth hands, Darcy scorched me.
