Page 3 of An Alien for Her Heart
His gaze shifts to the field before moving back to me. “Wild umus,” he says. “Best to tame them. Greetings.”
Tamethem? What in tarnation…
He goes back to his work and my brows dive. That’s all the help I’ll be getting from him, that’s clear. But did he say I shouldtamethe animals? How in the blazes am I supposed to do that? Brushing back the tendrils that have escaped my bun, I jerk slightly when another ooga collides with the perimeter fence, the sound reaching me as if I was standing right beside the fence itself. The whole structure bends outward, the wood creaking with a sound that echoes against the stone walls of my cottage.
I really have to do something.
I’m moving into the house as fast as my legs can take me, heart in my throat as I head straight to the table. I grab the communication device I have there—a rectangular thing thatreminds me of a smartphone. Breath held, I tap the screen and it lights up.
I know I should, but I don’t want to call. The whole reason for coming all the way out into these plains was to be self-sufficient. To live the rest of my days in serenity without the pressure of friends or relationships that ultimately fail. Yet, here I am, hand hovering over the device, considering asking for help.
I chew my lip, glancing out the window. The chaos outside is unsettling, the animals still baying and stomping, the little creatures flitting about like manic fluff balls. I sigh and tap the screen, bringing up the contact list. There are only two names there. The first is Xarion, the New Horizons representative who transported me to this farm.
Xarion had been kind, offering to check in periodically, but I had politely declined. Now, though, I wonder if I was too hasty in my hunger for peace.
I hesitate, finger hovering over his name. Can I really call him for something like this? The thought of his stern, yet understanding bunny-like features makes me hesitate further. No. I can’t contact him. But as another ooga crashes into the fence, I make my decision.
My focus drops to the second name on the list and a tingle of nervous energy rises in my gut. There’s only one other person I could call. A human. One who has been kind. One who has tried to be my friend even though the walls I’ve erected keep her at arm’s length. But I have no choice.
“Computer, ping Eleanor.” My voice trembles as the words come out, probably because my throat is so tight I can hardly breathe. If the perimeter fence falls and the animals get out, I don’t think I’ll ever get them back again. I can’t let that happen.
“Pinging Eleanor Taylor.”
I grimace but allow the ping to go through. The last thing I want is to burden someone else with my problems. But Eleanor’sfarm is up and running. She has a field. She’s even planted crops. Maybe she’s encountered the little fur monsters and can point me in the right direction before I lose my fence and my oogas.
I bite my lip, pacing as I look out the window just to see the complete carnival happening in the field. It seems to have escalated in the few minutes that it took me to come inside for the device.
Releasing a slow breath, I look down at my screen at the exact moment that Eleanor answers the ping.
“Catherine! So nice to hear from you! How are things going?”
I force a smile. There’s light in her eyes. Eleanor’s cheeks look rosy. She looks so happy. So genuinely happy, that I stare at her for a moment too long. Such pure happiness isn’t something often seen on other human faces. Not out here. Not in this new reality where we’ve all left Earth behind.
I want to lie to her, tell her everything’s going great, but that’s not the reason I called. I need her help.
“Hi.” I clear my throat. “Hello, Eleanor. I’m just—” My gaze shifts back to the terrified oogas. “I hope I’m not calling at a bad time. Are you busy?”
“No, no, go ahead!” I can tell she’s walking through her cottage to go stand on her porch. “I was just finishing preparing some seeds we’ll be planting today. Just a little tip, we have to soak them before we put them into the soil or they won’t take.”
In the background, I can see she’s painted her cottage pink and there are flowers hanging on the walls. It looks like summer in the South of France. It looks like a home. So warm and inviting that my stressed smile becomes genuine. Peace. She’s found her peace.
“I’m just calling for some advice,” I start. Now that she’s on the line, I feel like a fool for calling. Surely, I could have figured this out on my own. I have a supercomputer in my hands. Butsince she’s on the line, I press ahead anyway. “There are some animals. Something called umus—”
Eleanor gasps. She goes completely still, her eyes widening as she stares at me. “Oh no. Has one attacked you?!”
Her reaction makes me focus on her fully, the knot of thoughts that have been tangling my mind going to the background for a few moments. “Well, no. Are they dangerous? I seem to have…” My gaze slides back to the field. “I seem to have an infestation of sorts. They spooked the oogas and I have no idea how to calm them down. I tried shooing the little furries away and almost got trampled by the oogas themselves. I was just wondering if you have any ideas in case you encountered them before.”
“Goodness gracious,” Eleanor says, and her gaze shifts off to something I can’t see. “Don’t go near them. I nearly died because of one.”
My eyes widen. “Nearlydied? What?”
“Zynar!”
I stiffen as she calls her mate. I don’t want to take him away from his work too.
“Zynar!” But Eleanor’s eyes are still wide with panic as she hustles across what looks to be her yard and to her freshly cleared field. I start to pace, her panic bleeding through the call. What sort of trouble have I found myself in? My animals are going crazy and, as I catch glimpses of the overturned red dirt of her field, I’m reminded of just how far behind I am in my own crop preparations.
“Zynar, it’s Catherine! She’s in trouble.” Eleanor huffs, the look on her face still panicked.