It wasn’t really a question. “I expected to do a job and leave.”
“And now?”
Now I was starting to see why my cousins had chosen to stay. But that felt like too much to admit, even to myself.
“Now I have work to do.”
“What’s next?” She gestured toward the arena. “I’m here to work, as well, not just observe demonstrations.” Genuine curiosity and determination shone on her face. She wanted to understand, not just document.
“We could work on the training schedule,” I said. “If you’re going to design a program around sorhox capabilities, you need to know what a full day might look like.”
We went into my office, and for the next two hours, we talked in general about training, moving on to how to set up a schedule for activities tourists might be interested in participating in.
She made detailed notes and asked insightful questions. I watched the way she worked, admiring how thorough she was. Methodical, but not rigid. When she disagreed with something I suggested, she explained her reasoning instead of just dismissing it. I was starting to understand why she’d been successful in this field. I found myself noticing things I hadn’t before, like how she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when she was concentrating and how she bit her lower lip when she was processing something I’d told her.
Focus on the work, I reminded myself.
We went outside, and I demonstrated some of the things we might offer tourists. I had tons of ideas, but I could see from our conversation that only some of them would work. If I tried to do them all, I’d be overwhelmed. We could hire staff, but it made sense to offer select classes and activities I could easily handle with limited help at the start of the program.
“The vocalizations you use with the sorhox aren’t random, are they?” she said during a break.
We leaned against the railing, watching the beasts scrape away snow to graze in an adjacent pasture.
“Different tones mean different things,” I said. “We’ve trained sorhoxes for many generations, and the commands have been passed down from teacher to youngling. From the time I was small, I was already learning how to work with the creatures. Sorhoxes live about thirty years, so when we’re little, we pick a youngling and the two grow up together. By the time I was six, I was riding my own.”
“Thrakul?”
“No, he’s been trained to take a saddle and harness. He’s solely for tourists.” I wasn’t sure why it mattered, but I called to Peeka. “Whoop, whoop, whoop!”
She thundered in our direction from the plain closer to the forest that swept all the way to the mountains encircling the valley, coming to a halt beyond the ring where we stood.
“Whoa,” Carla said, looking from me to Peeka with excitement and amazement. “Where did she come from?”
“We let our personal beasts free range, but the ones tourists will work with, like Thrakul, needed to be kept close and penned up or someone might get hurt. Sorhoxes are placid creatures in general, but they can be protective of us and their young.”
Carla walked closer to the fence where Peeka waited, but stopped, looking back at me.
I followed, passing her to open the gate for her to leave the ring. “You can touch her if you want.”
She cautiously approached Peeka.
My sorhox turned her head and studied Carla before her dark green gaze met mine. When Carla got close enough she could touch, she held her hand out, palm up, for Peeka to sniff, shooting me a grin over her shoulder.
That smile… It hit me square in the chest like a sorhox hoof, stealing my breath and even my thoughts.
With a shake of my head, I joined them, urging Peeka to lower her head for Carla to scratch behind her ears.
My sorhox blew steam down Carla’s front, but while she jumped, Carla didn’t back away. She was not only smart, but she was also fearless. I liked that. Maybe even liked her—a little. I guessed I’d need to if I was going to work with her for the next few weeks.
The sun was getting lower, casting long shadows across the arena. We’d been out here for hours, and I realized I hadn’t oncefelt the need to retreat. Being around Carla felt comfortable. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that after losing Wexla.
She was attractive. That wasn’t news. I’d noticed that the day she arrived. Her auburn hair. Brown eyes. Curvy frame. But working with her, seeing her mind in action, and watching her connect with the sorhoxes was something else entirely.
I wasn’t sure if I liked that one bit.
She glanced toward the horizon. “The day sure passed fast. I know I’m not punching a clock, but it’s getting late. I guess I should head to my hotel room. Clean up. Have dinner at the saloon…”
Her gaze met mine. Did I read hope there? Surely she didn’t want me to join her?
