Page 38 of Jhon

She was grateful to find that it was fully stocked, with plenty of ingredients to make almost anything she could think of.

The fruits and vegetables were preserved in jars. Given that they would have to be imported, it made perfect sense. It was a relief to know they wouldn’t lack on nourishment just because they didn’t have a garden going yet.

She wondered if she could make a little green house and heat it somehow. If they made enough selling lichen, she might be able to have parts shipped in. It would be fun to learn to garden, and then they could have fresh veggies.

Having found egg and milk powders, as well as packets of wheat flour and sugar, she decided to make johnnycakes.

There was a box on the counter that looked like it might be for playing the feeds. She didn’t dare imagine that it could pick up the feed from all the way out here, but she turned it on for fun anyway.

The latest pop hit from Stallta-fon Byzonnt began playing immediately.

“Yes,” Ella laughed, unable to believe her luck.

She began dancing around the kitchen a bit as she whisked the johnnycake mix.

Bo tapped her shoulder with his little hand almost in time to the music, a big grin on his sweet face.

“You like dancing, huh?” she asked him.

He laughed at her, and she danced him over to the window and back to the counter, using more elaborate steps.

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted her to Jhon’s presence.

She turned to him, proud to be able to offer him a homemade breakfast.

The look on his face stopped her in her tracks.

“We need to talk,” he said, his voice gruff.

He wasn’t even looking at her.

“Okay,” she said. “Let me just turn off the stove.”

He waited, motionless, while she pulled the pan off the burner, and quickly cleaned everything up.

The johnnycakes might get cold, but whatever was happening with Jhon was clearly more important. Her heart pounded hard as she worked, and she was on the verge of tears by the time she walked over to him.

“Sit,” he said, indicating the little table by the window.

She sat, glad for the reassuring warmth of Bo, who was leaning against her chest now.

Whether his excitement was dissipating because she had stopped dancing and he was sleepy after his milk, or if he was actually reading the mood of his mother and father, she had no idea. But the two of them held each other and waited for Jhon to speak.

“As an Invicta soldier, I have dedicated my life to my duty,” Jhon said flatly. “And my duty here is to guard the boy, nothing more. What happened last night cannot happen again. Ever.”

She stared at him for a moment, wondering what happened to the passionate, romantic man who had warmed her bed.

Had she imagined him?

“Do you understand?” he asked slowly, but with an undercurrent of impatience.

“I understand,” she said crisply. “I need to get back to my johnnycakes though. If you’re finished?”

A flash of something that almost looked like hurt went across his face so fast she wasn’t sure she had seen it at all.

Then he was out of his seat and heading for the door.

“I’m going to patrol,” he told her over his shoulder.