A month later, Kyla was on a horse—a real, Earth-pure stallion rather than the animals engineered through hormones and hybridization that she’d always known on Evalon.

She was riding at a gallop, trying to keep up with Hall’s larger stallion.

They were still on Cain and Riana’s ranch, and Kyla had never been happier in her life. She loved this planet, and she loved both Cain and Riana. She’d gotten to know some of the other families in the community, and she’d never before felt like she was really a part of things the way she was here.

She’d made several pairs of boots already. A few she’d given away, but the rest she’d sold—for a surprising amount of money for a community that wasn’t particularly wealthy.

Plus, there was Hall. She loved him most of all.

He was grinning at her over his shoulder, and he called to her, “Can’t you get your nag to keep up?”

Kyla dug her ankles into the horse’s side, and the stallion responded by speeding up.

She laughed out loud as she and her stallion moved up beside Hall. She felt like she was flying, like she was completely free, like nothing could hold her back.

Nothing could hold her back, except the fatigue of her horse, who eventually had to slow down.

Hall slowed his down too, and they cooled the horses off at a trot and then a walk as they reached the top of a steep hill.

“Are we almost there?” Kyla asked, breathing in wind and the fresh scent of dirt and grass.

“Yes.”

“Where exactly are we going?”

Hall pulled his horse to stop, so Kyla did too. Hall nodded down the other side of the hill. “We’re here.”

Kyla looked at the landscape in front of them. It was beautiful, the hill sloping down toward a broad river, with fields beyond it that looked like a farm. “Why are we here?”

“Because that piece of property is for sale. You like it on this planet, don’t you?”

“Of course. But that’s a farm, isn’t it? You don’t want to be a farmer, and I don’t want you to do something you don’t really like, just so we can stay here.”

“I’m not going to be a farmer. Not really, anyway. I’ve been doing some tests on the soil. The climate is a little colder than ideal, but I think the soil there would work for some really interesting kinds of grapes.” His eyes were sparkling the way they did when he had a really good plan.

“Grapes?” She gasped when it processed in her minds. “A vineyard? You want to start a vineyard?”

“And a winery.” He was watching her closely, as if checking her reaction. “I’d have to hire some help, but I could start small. I could do what my parents did. I think I would like it, if that’s all right with you.”

She was almost choking on her joy and excitement as she realized that Hall could be happy, he could do something he wanted to do, and they could stay on this planet. She scrambled off her horse, almost stumbling when she reached the ground.

Hall was dismounting too, and he caught her and pulled her into a hug. “So that’s a yes, is it?” he murmured into her hair.

“Why don’t you feel for yourself?”

He pressed his mouth against her neck, opening a connection that filled them both with each other’s love and joy and excitement and hope.

It was so strong it rocked her. She could barely stand up. Tears were streaming down her face when he finally broke the connection.

She was flushed and gasping as she said, “Promise me you’ll never do that particular thing with anyone else.”

He’d been smiling, but his expression sobered as he looked at her. “Of course I won’t. You know that, don’t you? It’s as intimate as sex is to me now, and you’re the only one I’ll ever share that with.”

She brushed away her tears. “Good. That’s what I thought.”

He shook his head and took her hand as they led the horses down the hill and tied them up so they could explore the piece of property.

“Do you have enough money stashed away to afford this place?” Kyla asked as they approached the big house that overlooked the river.

“Yes. Prices here are cheap compared to the rest of Coalition space. I’ve got enough. Lenna said she’d be in this general area next week, so she could pick us up and we could go collect it.”

“Perfect. I’ll be glad to see Lenna again. How is she doing?”

“Same as always. She told me that I might have settled down, but she’s not about to cave on that.”

“At least she’s having a good time with it. Hopefully, she won’t get in trouble with the Coalition.”

“She has a way of making things work for her. I think she’ll be all right.”

Kyla cleared her throat. “When we’re collecting your stash, if we’re in the area, maybe we could stop and visit Patrice?”

“Of course, we can,” Hall said, brushing a hand down her hair in a silent, comforting gesture.

“I can’t believe she went back to Charlon. I mean, she’s basically his mistress now.”

“Yeah, but it’s as close to the life she knows as she can get. People don’t always change that quickly.”

She sighed, letting out her anxiety and disappointment with her breath. Patrice had left two weeks ago, after giving up on living a primitive life on an uncivilized world. Kyla was getting used to the idea at last. “But what happens when he gets tired of her? She won’t be that beautiful forever.”

“She’ll have to figure it out then. She can always come and live with us. You know that, right?”

Kyla leaned over and kissed Hall’s shoulder. “Yes. I know that. It means a lot, since I know you don’t really like her. Thank you.”

“I’ve never been bound to anything as tightly as I’m bound to you. I’m hopelessly shackled for the rest of my life.” Hall’s eyes were warm and soft. “But it’s the kind of bondage I’ve spent my life looking for. What’s yours is mine. Including your sister.”

“Same here,” she whispered, too emotional to say anything more.

Hall gave her a little hug before he said, “All right. So do you want to look at this house? The owners let me borrow the key so we could go in.”

“Yes, I want to see the house. I can’t wait! I’ve always wanted a house of my own.”

“So have I,” Hall admitted. “So have I.”

***

If you haven’t yet read it, the first book in his series is , about Cain and Riana. This summer, I’ll have another follow-up book about Lenna. You can find an early excerpt from that book on the following pages, and the pre-order links should be up by the end of May.

 

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