He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "We will fill this home with new trinkets, and because we will collect them together, they will have meaning. They will be a reflection of our love."
That was so sweet that those pesky tears she was trying to hold back started leaking from her eyes.
Esag's smile evaporated. "Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"
She shook her head. "You said everything right. I'm just being emotional. Ignore me."
"How can I?" He cupped her cheek. "You are my entire world. My morning and evening star."
She lifted on her toes, intending to kiss the living daylights out of him, when a whizzing sound of an approaching golf cart made them both turn toward the still-open door.
Davuh was behind the wheel of the largest golf cart Tula had seen in the village since her arrival, and Roven was sitting next to him. In the back was an enormous pile of flat-packed materials.
"What's that?" she pointed.
"My new workshop." He turned toward the door, pulling her with him. "I bought a ready-to-build kit, and my friends volunteered to help me put it together. All the pieces are pre-cut and labeled, so it shouldn't be a difficult project. We can probably have it done in one day."
"That's such a clever idea." She smiled at Davuh and Roven, who began unloading the golf cart.
The pile of materials was even more impressive up close. There was even a box with a picture of an air conditioning unit.
"Where did you find the money to purchase all this?"
"I had some savings." Esag hefted a stack of panels and started carrying them toward the backyard. "Davuh and Roven loaned me the rest."
She frowned. "And where did they get the money?"
"They are officially Guardians in training now, and the position comes with a salary. They contributed their first paycheck to the effort."
The annoying waterworks started anew, but Tula was done being embarrassed by them. Everyone knew she was pregnant, so they would forgive her emotional state. She turned toward Esag's friends. "Thank you for doing this for us. For Esag. We will pay you back."
"He'd better." Davuh hefted several boards onto his shoulder. "I don't care about the money, but this thing will take much longer to build than the one day he told us it would. More like three or four."
"I'll work for beer," Roven said. "Please tell me there's beer."
"There's plenty," Tula assured him. "I'll keep you watered and fed while you work."
"Thank you, sister." Roven winked at her.
Sister.
He called her sister because she was Esag's mate and they were his brothers. They didn't share blood, but they shared so much more, and now they were accepting her into their small family.
She fled to the kitchen to hide the geyser of tears that was about to erupt, and while she wiped them away furiously, the men got to work, spreading out the component parts in the backyard. They argued over the assembly instructions, with Davuh losing his patience and tossing the instructions aside.
Tula prepared a large tray with beers, water, and cut fruit and carried it to the back porch. After setting it down on the outdoor dining table, she sat down on one of the chairs and watched them work.
She wanted to offer her help, but the truth was she didn't know how and would just be in the way. Besides, there was something deeply satisfying about sitting here and watching her future take shape.
The shed was going to be Esag's workshop—a place for him to carve and create, separate from the house so the sawdust and noise wouldn't disturb her and the baby.
It was a practical and sensible solution, but to Tula, it was so much more than that.
The shed represented permanence. It was a commitment. It was Esag putting down roots and planning to stay for good.
After five thousand years of placeholder relationships and a guarded heart, she was finally settling down with the one she'd been waiting for, without knowing that all along it had been Esag.
How could she have known?
