Royal: A Sci-Fi Romance (The Jekh Saga Book 5) Page 21

The reason Autumn was in the coffee shop and not hiding out at the lodge was that she’d finally gotten Cree to slow down long enough for a daytime meeting.

  Autumn scoffed and opened the doc on her tablet once more. “Meeting. I have to schedule meetings with my own sister who shouldn’t even be here.”

  Fastida returned with a fresh mug of coffee and a sandwich of some sort. “Eat that. You’re drying up on the hoof.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Fastida raised a dark red eyebrow. “Don’t you know? Mrs. Carmichael says it all the time. I assumed it was a common idiom on Earth.”

  “Who’s Mrs. Carmichael?” Autumn hadn’t met a character by that name yet.

  “Mrs. Carmichael is Courtney, Erin, and Owen’s maternal grandmother.”

  Autumn let out a breath and poured sugar into her coffee. “Yes, of course. I imagine you’re one of the McGarry adjacents.”

  “You could call me that. I live with Precious Cipriani.” Fastida studied her blunt nails. “Carnally.”

  Groaning, Autumn closed her eyes.

  Oh hell.

  “I didn’t poison your food, by the way,” Fastida said.

  “I hadn’t suspected that you did until that very second, so thank you.”

  “You’re a bit of a bitch, you know that?”

  Autumn opened her eyes and leveled the woman with a glare, or at least, tried to. The expression got her absolutely nowhere. Fastida was still studying her nails, calm as she pleased.

  “I didn’t come here for a lecture,” Autumn said.

  “Too fucking bad. If you’re going to live here, you’re going to have to swallow what’s fed to you.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “The same bullshit you’re giving us.” Fastida unhooked a cloth from her apron and wiped a drip from the table near Autumn’s tablet. “No point in saying otherwise. It’s perfectly clear to anyone who gives a damn what you really came here for. Sucks for Luke, because he had so many options.”

  “Did he?” Including Alex Hauge options, no doubt. Autumn rolled her eyes again. No one in town knew anything about their little love affair, which stunned her. She’d never witnessed a more robust grapevine than the one in Little Gitano.

  “Yep. Damn near every unattached man in the area was asking about him.”

  “No women, hmm?”

  “Why would they? They knew better. They’d have better luck wishing to wake up rich and actually have their dream come true.”

  “And why is that?”

  Fastida’s grin was wide and immediately troubling. “Because Ciprianis can afford to be picky. I suppose you simply slipped in under the radar.”

  Autumn was too stunned to make a rejoinder, which was just as well because Cree had decided to finally arrive. She had a big grin on her face and company with her.

  Autumn pinched the bridge of her nose and gave Sera a curt nod.

  Sera walked away without responding.

  Autumn scoffed.

  “Oh, don’t mind her,” Cree said, giggling. “She’s really not that great at holding a grudge. She’ll eventually recover.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Mm-hmm.” Cree stole a sip of Autumn’s coffee and eyed the sandwich.

  “Take it,” Autumn murmured.

  “Nah, you should eat it. You look famished.”

  “Is that the same thing as being dried up on the hoof?”

  “My understanding is that being dried up on the hoof is one stage past emaciated.” Cree raised her pale eyebrows. “You’ve lost weight.”

  Autumn twined her fingers and stared at her sister.

  “You’re working too much,” Cree said solemnly.

  “Given the circumstances, how could I not?” She nudged the tablet across the table. “My investments here are at risk. Someone here is trying to undermine projects I’ve already had approved. They’re saying additional layers of approval may be required unless I qualify for special bypassing.”

  Cree furrowed her brow and scanned the document issued by the regional government. “How do you get bypassed?”

  “By either being native, married to a native, or married to someone with silver kalteen status.”

  “Which means someone they consider to be native because of certain work they did here.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Doesn’t Luke have that status?”

  “Yes.”

  “So…”

  Autumn pinched the bridge of her nose harder. She was exhausted and the familiar burn of her sinuses from being awake too long was starting to settle in. “Read the last paragraph.”

  As Cree read, Autumn pulled the sandwich closer. It appeared to be a serviceable BLT on wheat bread. She took a bite. She didn’t taste poison, but she wasn’t sure if poison even had a taste.

  “Someone filed a motion stating you’re here falsely,” Cree said. “That’s what I think that part about them receiving additional information means. I saw one of the other Terran women crying about this kind of thing a few days ago. I asked her what happened, and it turned out her ex-husband back on Earth filed some bogus docs saying she was here for malicious reasons.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Autumn reeled at the possibilities. There were so many people who could have attempted to subvert her in a similar way. Her father, because he’d learned she was on Jekh through a friend of a friend who worked at the emigrant processing center back in New York. One of his snooping aides could have been trying to throw a monkey wrench into her plans, or anyone she’d encountered at the farm, including Brenna and Ara.

  And Alex.

  Luke.

  She balled her hands into fists and took a deep breath.

  She was used to people playing dirty, but she hadn’t anticipated the caliber of machinations the crew in Little Gitano was capable of.

  She shook out her hands, picked up her sandwich, and concentrated on taking small, easy-to-swallow bites.

  “What are you going to do?” Cree asked.

  Autumn raised her eyebrows briefly and took another bite. “I suppose I’m going to have to have another little chat with my husband.”

  “Oh, man. Maybe you can just wait and see what happens. If you can hold out long enough, no one’s going to be able to bother you because you would have met the independent residency requirement.”

  “That might work for you because you’re young and unattached, but I come with baggage.”

  Cree’s grin went bleak. “I’m pretty sure I have that same baggage. We have the same last name.”

  “Perhaps so, but the fact you ran away before you could get trapped under our father’s thumb will make people think more charitably of you. Me?” Autumn shrugged and studied her sandwich. “I wasn’t in a situation where I could tell him no.”

  “Because you didn’t have an Autumn to stow away with.” Cree reached across the table and squeezed her big sister’s hand. “We’ll figure something out. I think the Jekhans are reasonable people, on the whole.”

  “You know that because you’ve been spending so much time with them?”

  Cree shrugged. “The Beshni farm is where all the action is. It’s like an amusement park without the thrill rides.”

  “So why don’t I ever feel so amused when I go there?”

  Cree didn’t answer, but then again, Autumn couldn’t really expect her to.

  ___

  Autumn left Cree in Little Gitano to do whatever it was that Cree did—not that the woman needed her sister’s help at all, apparently—and paid the miller to drive her to the Beshni farm. She didn’t even have to use the communications box. Her new miller friend actually needed to make a dishe flour delivery to the bakery, so he did all the talking.

  She had him drop her off by the barn, which was the most central area on the farm, as far as daytime activity was concerned.

  Idly fondling the strap of her tote, she gave the scene a wide scan, muttering, “What does he do this time of day?”

  If she�
�d paid more attention, she would have had some idea of where Luke spent his time, or at least of where he spent his money.

  Then she rolled her eyes and tapped her COM’s wristband. She had the device connect to Cree.

  “Hmm?” her sister asked.

  “Where is Luke this time of day? I figured you’d have the scoop.”

  “Well, the best I could tell, he doesn’t really keep a strict schedule. I heard Owen saying something about needing to take a trip today, though, so Luke may have gone over there.”

  Autumn started walking toward the cart rail. “Which house is Owen’s?”

  “The blue Cape Cod-style one. It’s super-cute. I think Ais picked out the blueprint.”

  “Good to know. I’ll call you later to let you know I’m alive.”

  Cree sighed and disconnected.

  After a ten-minute ride through a field of some sort of yellow grain, the cart stopped in front of the blue-gray house. Miracle of miracles, the front door was wide open, and Luke was leaning into the doorway with his back turned.

  She got out and unnecessarily slammed the cart door.

  Luke turned around, caught her in his gaze, and didn’t bother suppressing his eye roll.

  “Pleasure to see you as well, husband.” She hitched her tote up to her shoulder and carefully stepped down the gravel path. As she approached the house, he stepped out onto the small porch and closed the door behind him.

  “Let me guess,” he said sourly, pushing his uncombed hair out of his dark eyes. “You either need something signed or you’re here to collect additional blackmailing material.”

  She ground her teeth and held her tongue.

  He was treating her the way people treated her father. Her father had a reputation for using people, and he never bothered with pleasantries before he did. She’d never wanted to become that.

  Still didn’t.

  She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “Actually, I do have a matter I need to discuss with you. A matter of some paperwork.”

  “What’s up? Have a new parcel of land you’re eying and need me to apply for the permit for you?”

  “No. When I need to apply for a permit, I’ll do it under my own business’s name and will keep you out of the mess altogether. My issue is with projects already in progress.” She pulled her tablet from her bag and opened the offending document. “Scroll to the last page. Read the bottom few paragraphs.”

  Sighing as he took it, he leaned against the porch support and stared at her.

  “Are you going to read it?”

  “You came all the way out here to show me some fucking paperwork? This wasn’t something you could send me a message about or call?”

  “This is important.”

  “To you, maybe.”

  “I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make.”

  “The point is why would you think I gave a shit? Seriously.”

  For a minute, she stood frozen, stupefied at his callous response. She should have expected him to behave that way. After all, she hadn’t played nice, but she’d obviously overestimated the strength of the leverage she had over him.

  Or maybe he’s bluffing.

  She narrowed her eyes and raised her chin defiantly. “I would have thought you’d be more invested in maintaining the facade that is our marriage.”

  “Nah. I’m all about the bare minimum, you know?”

  “Are you certain you want to go down that path?”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “I—” Having no quick comeback, she closed her mouth and decided to utilize every professional bullshitter’s go-to strategy for wresting control of a situation. Lying. “Not a threat,” she said evenly. “A reminder of your…” She swiped the fingers of her left hand across her jaw, gracefully brandishing the general store wedding band she wore. “Obligation.”

  He rolled his eyes again and shifted his weight.

  She’d always despised cocky men who thought they knew too much—who thought they knew more than she did, even when she had the brains and experience to outperform them at every turn.

  She took a step forward, clenching her teeth.

  “Do me a favor and take that,” he said, holding out the tablet.

  “I gave it to you for a reason.”

  “And I’m giving it back because I don’t care about your reasoning. If you’ve got a problem, you need to take it up with whoever got your panties in a wad in a first place.”

  “I’m here because I’m reasonably certain that person is you.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She flicked a hand toward the tablet. “Read it. The sooner you do, and the sooner we resolve this, the sooner I’ll get out of your…” She curled her lip. “Greasy hair.”

  His hair was fine. Gorgeous, even. Thick and shiny, and falling alluringly into his eyes. He wore an unkempt look better than any man she’d ever encountered. She simply was able to perform on-demand revulsion exceedingly well. Working with the caliber of assholes she did on a daily basis, she’d needed to add visceral disgust to her dramatic repertoire, because sometimes words weren’t enough.

  He kept staring at her, brown eyes cold and uncaring.

  It was a shame he was so attractive. His good looks were one more emotional trigger for her—a slap in the face. She’d given him some of her energy, and all he’d given her was frustration.

  She was about to spew some words—which ones, she didn’t know. She didn’t always think through her verbal lances when she was feeling so defensive, but he looked down at the tablet then, and she shut her mouth.

  He read in silence.

  She let her shoulders fall down to their natural position and concentrated on leveling out her breathing.

  A minute later, he held out the tablet, saying nothing.

  “Well?” she asked.

  He shrugged.

  “Are you responsible for that?”

  “That was your automatic assumption, right? That surely, it had to be me.” He gave his head a patronizing shake and clucked his tongue. “But does that make sense to you? Why would I try to intentionally piss you off knowing that with the slightest provocation you’re gonna lower the boom on me?”

  “You worked for the FBI. I assumed you had some sort of strategy.”

  He dragged his hand down his face and let out a curious-sounding scoff. “You know, if this had been Earth, I would have. Maybe I would have been a bit more aggressive about getting your foot off my neck, but this is Jekh. We’re used to waiting for things here. Rushing tends to get folks into trouble. Trust me—I know a little something about trouble.” He grinned.

  The sensual allure of his grin made her want to weep. He was a barefooted fallen angel in a plaid shirt and faded blue jeans and he was married to her. And yet…in love with someone else.

  She didn’t know why the word “love” popped into her brain, but when she applied it to the situation, no other word fit better. That was what that passionate, crackling chemistry was that she’d never had with anyone. She was not only a married to a barefooted fallen angel who was in love with someone else, but someone else who was male. That might have consoled her a little—that his preferences simply didn’t include what she was—but it didn’t. She’d never been the kind of woman who was willing to settle for “close enough.”

  Sliding the tablet back into her bag and staring into the dark maw of her tote, she chose her words carefully. Autumn needed to make him understand that her goals for her business were important to her and could help people if she succeeded. If he understood that not everything for her was about money, he might have been more forgiving of what she had to do. “Luke, I—”

  “I don’t know anything about that document,” he said.

  She looked up in time to see him shrug.

  “I can see where it might make you worry, but it’s not my doing.”

  “Then whose?” she murmured, really more for her sake than his, but he responded anyway.

&nb
sp; “I don’t know the answer to that, but good luck figuring it out. Listen, I hate to rush you away, but I gotta fly down to The Barrens to see some folks about transitional housing.”

  “The Barrens?” Her gut felt like it had suddenly knotted into a pretzel and her heart seemed to stop for a few beats. She was cut out. Overlooked again. Shaking her head in awe, she rubbed her sternum. “I… I was supposed to be helping with that project.” She pulled her tablet back out and tried to find the pertinent messages. “I was supposed to—”

  “This is humanitarian stuff,” Luke interrupted.

  Appalled, she looked up at him. “And I’m not capable of that?”

  He closed his eyes and dragged his hand down his face. “That isn’t what I meant. I’m just saying that my job is to assess needs and to make sure those needs are communicated to the people who can actually do something to meet them. This is government business. Contractors don’t really even come into play yet, except in a few unique circumstances.”

  “What are those circumstances? Because I was on the list of contractors. My application to pitch for those projects was approved.”

  “I don’t know anything about that. All I know is that there are different project stages, and right now, the people in the know are the ones who need to be importing materials to start building next season.”

  “Do you know who they are?”

  “I know a few names.”

  “For-profit companies?”

  “For fuck’s sake, why are you needling me about this?”

  “Because I wanted a chance to do that work. I had the money in reserve to use as a cushion until my operation could start earning business here. I’m using my own cash to do this. That project in The Barrens was the first thing I looked into when I started giving serious thought to coming to Jekh.”

  He furrowed his brow. “And why did you?”

  “Come to Jekh or bid on the free housing?”

  “Hell. Both?”

  “I—” Again, she shut her mouth and mulled over her words. There was a risk of her saying too much of the wrong thing. She could purposelessly escalate the tension between them, and it didn’t hurt anyone if he knew the truth about some things.

  Selected things.

  Autumn couldn’t trust him with more than that yet, or maybe ever.