Burton stood in the cool water, his mate warm against his chest.

Brilliant colors saturated their small corner of the planet, the sun turned the surface of the water to flame, and the long grass of the meadow was a richer green than any emerald.

And Tansy’s heart beat strong and sweet against his chest.

She was his now - he knew it to his core, though she had not said the words and he had not claimed her. They were one.

He wondered how soon they would have young. He longed for privacy to explore their physical love with an agony equal to his desire to see their children explore the farm and discover all the good things that he was learning himself about this magical planet.

A place like Martin’s Bounty needed children to help with chores and swim in the pond and play on the porch. The movies had taught him that no farm was complete without children present to wonder at its daily miracles.

Tansy lifted her head from his chest and looked out at the horizon.

Burton chided himself for his fantasy. There would be plenty of time for children when Tansy was his mate.

For now he had to save her farm, so that she could concentrate on letting him love her.

“What are you thinking?” she asked him.

Her gentle smile told him she was amused. He was glad.

“I was thinking that the sun is coming up and we have a farm to save,” he said.

“You are one in a million,” she told him passionately.

He knew there were not nearly one million men created on Aerie for life on Earth. But he didn’t like to correct her when she was looking at him like that.

He leaned down and brushed her lips with his.

“Let’s get to work,” he whispered to her.

She took his hand and they waded to the bank.

Tansy let go of his hand to wrap her robe around herself and he pulled on his sweats.

They walked back toward the farmhouse in companionable silence. All around them the farm was coming to life. Birds sang, cocks crowed and when they got close to the house they could hear Sage banging around in the kitchen.

“I guess I should go back in my window, and you should come in the back door like you’re coming from the barn,” Tansy said.

“Yes,” Burton agreed, relishing the secret they shared.

He tugged her hand gently and she went up on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek before she disappeared in the direction of her bedroom window.

Burton went dutifully in the back door.

He was halfway down the hall before he realized that he was still wet from the pond.

He hesitated just outside the kitchen door trying to decide if it was a problem for Sage to know that he had been swimming this morning.

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop.

But he couldn’t help hearing the anxious tone of the voices in the kitchen.

“How bad are things?” Arden was asking Sage.

“We’d be much better off selling the farm to Dolly,” Sage said. “Much better.”

“I don’t think Tansy feels that way,” Arden said.

Sage sighed.

“Tansy’s stuck in the past,” she said after a moment.

“Your time with your grandmother was very special to both of you,” Arden said. “It’s hard to put a price on your history.”

“It isn’t when you’re gambling away your future,” Sage said.

“What are you talking about?” Arden asked.

“Tansy’s been spending her student loan disbursements on the farm,” Sage said. “If she doesn’t stop, she won’t be able to go back to college in the fall and finish her degree.”

“She’s spending her tuition money running this place?” Arden asked.

“Yes.” Sage sniffed.

“Oh, Sage,” Arden said. “Poor Tansy.”

Just then the teakettle began to whistle.

Burton took a few steps back into the darkness of the hallway to think.

Though his understanding of Earth’s custom of asking students to pay for learning was shaky, he believed he understood what Sage had said.

If his understanding was correct, then Sage was saying that Tansy had borrowed money for her learning, but was using it to pay for things at the farm instead.

And if this was true, then it occurred to Burton that staying on the farm might not be in Tansy’s best interests.

The realization hit him like a punch in the chest.

Serving Tansy’s needs had been Burton’s first priority since the moment they met.

This pull between what Tansy wanted and what was actually beneficial to her was confusing and unpleasant. Burton found himself in the unique position of being unsure how best to support and protect his mate.

The sound of her bedroom door closing told him that he needed to get moving.

He attempted to swallow down his confusion. Distress on his part would only be a hindrance to her. A bit of time spent observing his mate with this new information from Sage might help him understand what action could be taken.

The idea of spending more time with Tansy was pleasant and Burton managed to head back to the kitchen, hopeful that patience would provide the answers he craved.