Lifting his pick, he breaks down a stone. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Even if we don’t know exactly how or why you’re here, I have been unbelievably stressed, wondering how in the world you’ve survived this long. This explains why you have no idea what you’re doing in so many basic areas yet excel inexplicably at arguably more daunting tasks.”
Was that a compliment or an insult…?
“After yesterday, when I found you crying, I’ve been worried about overstepping. Even yesterday, I didn’t know whether or not it was appropriate to commandeer things with the pears.” He crashes through another set of rocks, and swipes sweat off his brow. Once his hand returns to the handle of his tool, he’s smiling. “I was up all night telling myself I made you uncomfortable and absolutely shouldn’t come by today and impose. After all, you’re an adult, right? You’ve lived this long without my help, haven’t you?” He breathes a laugh. “Wanting to help but not knowing if it was appropriate bothered me so much, I took a walk intotownas though town has ever once been agood idea. I thought maybe you were a lucky idiot, but then you don’t carry yourself like one by any means.” His smile widens, and he destroys another rock before throwing the blindingly beautiful look my way. “It makes sense. I’m not overstepping or insulting your intelligence by recognizing that you’re lost.” Heart-melting sparks of determination flicker in his blue eyes. “Let me help you get adjusted. It’s the least I can do after I jumped to conclusions and threatened you with a sword.”
“Um.” I choke on my thoughts. “I… I don’t know what to…say.” I wet my lips. “I’d really appreciate the help. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m kind of…a mess.”
He chuckles, scans me. “Yeah, I noticed. Don’t worry. And, who knows? Maybe once I know you’re okay, I’ll be able to sleep again.”
Okay. Sure. Maybe he has been lying awake thinking about how useless and concerning his new neighbor is…
Butworrying about my welfare instead of thinkingwow, what a hazard to societyand avoiding me at all costs feels like…something. Living next to someone who cares so much about a stranger being okay feels like something.
Something I’ve never had before.
Something I don’t want to lose.
Begging my heart to still, I say, “So many things are different and new, and I wasn’t the best at navigating my world, either. I’m trying as hard as I can, but it’s all so overwhelming. Existing…is hard.”
Lowering his pick, he closes the distance between us and cups my cheek in his hand, smiling softer than I’ve ever seen before. “I know it is. Don’t worry,” he repeats. “I’ll take care of you.”
Wow.
I have never been more worried in my life that my legs would give out, leaving me to skewer myself on a pickaxe. But. You know something?
It’s worth it.
Chapter 13
♥♥♥
Bless this DLC.
“Here,” Samson says, ascertaining that one of his t-shirts falls well below my thighs when held up to my body. “This should work.”Thisis ash gray. Cotton. Well-worn so that when my fingers grasp the fabric, it’s soft in my hand. “You can wear it after you bathe. If you need me to heat more warm water, just let me know.” Stepping back, into the hall and firmly out of the bathroom, he clears his throat. “I’ll take your dress to Ines in the morning so she can clean it, assuming you don’t mind borrowing my clothes for that long?”
My body heats, like the boiling water Samson just added to the bathtub behind me. Actually, my body’s probably hotter than it by roughly four thousand degrees. “I…I don’t mind.”
He nods, gracing me with an edge of softness in his expression that—for the umpteenth time today—threatens the stability of my legs. At least my pickaxe isn’t around to impale myself on anymore.
“Great. I’m going to rinse off in the pond and get started on dinner.” Directing my attention toward a cracked door down the hall, he says, “You’re welcome to make yourself comfortable in my spare room until your house is something worth living in.” He scratches the scruff on his neck. “Preferably, that means it includesindoor plumbing.”
My skin heats somehow further at the reminder my blurtingyou have a bathtub?resulted in along, looongstare followed by:It’s small for me, so I prefer the pond during the warmer seasons.
I squeak, “You’re…letting me stay here? Not just letting me borrow your facilities?”
“If you don’t mind. It’s going to take more than a few seasons to get the supplies and resources required to make your farmhouse livable, and…something about you needing to start fires to stay warm in winter…gives me anxiety.”
I wince as though I wasn’t thinking the exact same thing during my sad girl days. “I promise I’m not completely useless.”
He smiles, setting a hand atop my head and rustling my hair. “I know you aren’t, Lemonade. I knew that before I knew you were displaced in this world. Honestly, if your world is filled with the kind of technology that makes leisure devices likevideo gamescommonplace, it’s commendable how well you’ve managed here on your own. You’re tough. I appreciate that.”
Tough?
Silly Samson.
I am made of jelly.
By some miracle of grace, he doesn’t wait around for me to untie my tongue. “Get cleaned up. We’ll talk more about our strategic approach to getting you adjusted over dinner.”
