Part 15 (1/2)
”Why don't you keep more of them for your own?”
The question caught her off guard. ”What?”
He waved a hand to the land surrounding the house and the house itself.
”Since you have all this s.p.a.ce and feel as you do about rescuing the unwanted, I figured you'd have adopted a gaggle of them yourself.”
”Why all this concern about my life habits?”
He shrugged, but the intensity had returned. ”I have to be alert to anything out of the ordinary. To understand that, I have to understand what ordinary is.” He said it matter-of-factly, but his eyes told a different story. He wasn't merely making conversation. ”Studying you and your setup here has left me with questions.”
She took a different tack. Let him answer some questions. ”Speaking of animals, what happened to your dog?”
He looked totally blank for a second. ”My dog?” Then his expression cleared.
”You mean Ringer.”
”Yes, I believe that is what you called him once before. What was he? Some sort of convenient prop you used to meet me? And now that you've accomplished your invasion into my life, he is of no further use to you? What did you do to him, send him back to the future to fend for himself?”
”Send Ringer back to fend for himself?” He said it as though he couldn't believe he'd heard her right. ”I wouldn't do that.” His shock was so sincere she had to believe him.
Her soft heart swelled. Just a little. ”What did you expect me to think? I haven't seen him since that day at the Lodge.” Why was she on the defensive again?
”I didn't think it was your concern. You have enough mongrels to deal with,
don't you, now?”Rather than being stung by his brush-off, she was intrigued. He seemed a bit... disconcerted.
Evasive even. Interesting. ”You had no problem sticking your nose in my affairs. Where is he?”
Archer actually s.h.i.+fted his weight ever so slightly. He waved a hand, striving
for a casualness she now knew he didn't entirely feel. ”Round and about. Likes to go on walkabout that one does.”
”He's running loose?” Archer propped his hands on his hips. ”Well, he's not exactly a threat to the wildlife or the population in general. And it's not like you don't have room for him to roam a bit. He doesn't get much chance to run like this at home. I thought it would do him good.”
”I'm not worried what trouble he'll make, I'm worried about the trouble that might find him, you idiot.” Archer's eyebrows lifted at that one, but she continued on. ”I don't know how they handle pet owners.h.i.+p in Australia, or in Britain, or... or wherever you're from, but here we are required to keep a handle on our pets. So they don't end up needing my services. Or worse. There are natural predators out there, ones he might not be familiar with.”
”Trust me, Ringer can fend for himself quite well.” He folded his arms, no longer seeming off balance. ”Where I come from,” he said, almost mockingly, ”predators are a part of daily living. If he can make it there, I'm certain he can handle anything here. Ringer has a well-developed instinct for self-preservation.”
She shook her head in disgust. ”When was the last time you saw him? How is he being fed? Are you sure he's okay?” Laughing, Archer stepped forward and lightly grasped her hands. He tugged her closer to him. It seemed an entirely natural gesture, as did the v/ay she sort of fell against him, their body parts all aligning so perfectly. It actually took her breath away.
”I think I just figured out why you don't have animals in the house.” There was nowhere to look but up into his dancing black eyes. Her breath caught in her chest. ”I have a cat. Marble,” she managed.
”That's not a real pet.”
”You want to tell him that? All twenty-eight pounds of him?”
”The way I hear it, he was Beatrice's beast and, from the looks of him, quite
able to take care of himself. I imagine he'd do just fine without you.” He moved even closer, tipping her head farther back. ”But he chooses to stay with you.” He leaned down. ”Wise choice, I'd say.”
Her breath caught the instant before his mouth covered hers. She'd known his intent, had seen it clearly in his dark eyes. But she hadn't shoved him away, she hadn't done any of the smart things some part of her mind should have screamed at her to do.
She swiftly realized that she didn't need to worry about connecting to his feelings again. She was too busy wallowing in her own. The incredible warmth of his lips on hers, how firm they were, how well they matched hers, how they seemed to know her, as if he'd kissed her a thousand times before. It was glorious, intoxicating, wondrous. And extremely dangerous.
That last part was what made her pull away. Still, she wanted to reach up and touch her mouth. It felt like something foreign, strangely alive when she hadn't even known it had been lying dormant all this time.
”They take it from you, don't they, Tali?” he asked quietly, his gaze steady on hers. She felt as if he were the one looking into her soul. When she looked away, he drew the tip of his finger along the side of her cheek, then along the lips he'd just thoroughly imprinted with his own. ”You can't have them under your own roof all the time because you feel too much of them, and it drains you. They tug at your strength, your heart, all the time.” He tipped up her chin and she chided herself for the gla.s.sy surface she knew he'd find in her eyes. ”I
didn't mean to upset you. I only wanted to understand you. I think maybe I do. A little bit more at any rate.”Her senses reeled. ”Archer, I-””Time to finish my rounds.”
”But-”
He dropped his mouth to hers for one last hard kiss. ”I want you to head in.”
He left her, moving back to the fence, which he leaped over as effortlessly as he'd done earlier.
She wanted to be angry that he'd come to understand her so clearly. Especially the part of her she'd kept locked away the farthest. She did good work here, satisfying and important. Yet there was a part of her that had always felt some lingering guilt. That she hadn't been strong enough to put her abilities to use more directly.
Archer was the first one to make her feel like it was okay. The first one to
truly understand why she'd chosen the path she had. And accept it.