Clonely You (Sunrise Cantina #2)

Chapter 10

CHAPTER

TEN

AITHAR

Michaela’s sled is parked strangely in front of her house when I arrive. Normally she has it in the same demarcated spot on the lawn and is careful to keep it between the lines. Today, though, it’s sprawled out of place. I head toward it, container of leftovers in hand, and eye the interior. Everything looks normal, at least. I head for the barn, as this time of day, my lovely Michaela will be working. I try to come over early when I can, because if I catch her mid-process, she’ll normally let me help her a bit. She does so much work that I worry she’s going to exhaust herself. I understand her need to control things, but I wish she’d let me take some of her burden.

To my surprise, she’s not in the barn. Normally she’d be pulling butter from the churns or rinsing it, this late in the day. I move to one of the churns and there’s nothing inside it. Glancing around, I don’t see signs that Michaela’s been in this afternoon. The insulated milk tank is reading full, and the feeding panel is flashing for review. I move to the screen, tap a few buttons to release the last of the day’s feed, and then check the perimeter of the barn. My heart pounds when there’s no sign of Michaela.

Where is she if she’s not working?

I race inside, all but throwing the container of leftovers onto the counter. “Michaela? Are you here?”

“Aithar?” Her wobbly voice comes from the bedroom.

Oh kef, is she sick? Did she hurt herself? Strain a muscle? My mouth is dry as I hurry to her side. She’s in bed, the covers pulled tight around her shoulders. She lies on her side, a woebegone expression on her face, and it wrings my heart. “Tell me what’s wrong, love. Tell me what I can do to fix it.”

“Someone in town is selling milk. They opened up a dairy farm.” Her voice is soft. Defeated. She sits up, and the expression on her face echoes the sadness in her tone.

I know Michaela well enough to understand how much this bothers her. Moving to her side in the bed, I sit down at her side. “And you worry you won’t be able to compete with them?”

“Dairy was my idea, damn it. What if they start making butter? Skim milk? What if everyone buys this stranger’s dairy products instead of mine? What if I can’t make money anymore?” She flings her arms around my neck and buries her face against my throat.

I’m shocked that she reaches for me, grabs me for comfort. In our past touches, she has always been the one in control, the one self-assured. And she’s never needed consoling before. I stroke her hair before pulling her in closer. “Tell me everything.”

She sniffs, the sound watery and forlorn, and then tells me about her day. How she found the bottle of milk in the store and panicked. It’s not as bad as it seems to me, but I can understand her frantic reaction. She has spent the last few years building up a business where she is needed and in demand and can make as many credits as she possibly can. Now a rival threatens her monopoly. I understand this. I felt the same sort of panic when I learned that Ruthie was going to learn comms. You always worry for your position when your past has been uncertain.

I rub her arm and murmur comforting things, letting her get it out of her system without judging her.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admits at one point, sniffing again.

“Well, let us think through it,” I say, stroking her back. “Should we sabotage her business? Say the word and I can have her barn burned down.”

“What? No!” Michaela pulls back from me, shocked. “Are you serious?”

I consider this, then nod. “Of course. If you wanted me to destroy her livelihood, I would. She is nothing to me and you are everything. Say the word and I will make it happen.”

Her eyes go wide. Her lips part as if she’s about to speak, and then she shakes her head slowly. “I don’t want that, but I’m…oddly flattered you’d do that for me, no questions asked.”

“You are everything to me,” I reassure her, and pull her in close for a quick kiss. Her lips linger on mine for a moment, her gaze searching mine, and she tucks herself back in against me once more. I settle her in my arms, loving that this allows me to wrap myself around her and give her comfort. “So no barn burning.”

“No. Never.”

“Should we threaten her, then? Go to her farm and demand that she not make dairy products?”

“No, of course not. She’s allowed to do what she wants.” Michaela sighs heavily. “And she’s allowed to make money doing the same thing I’m doing. There’s no rule against it. I’m just panicking and having a bad day.”

“Because it has been your business all this time,” I say gently, my thumb rubbing on her shoulder. “I understand. Perhaps you can talk to her and arrange an agreement so you do not step on each other’s toes? If she is doing a different sort of milk, you stay with your products and neither of you cuts into each other’s business.”

Her fingers play against my stomach and she’s quiet for a long moment. “That is an incredibly rational and calm way of seeing things, Aithar. Now that we’re talking, I’m embarrassed I flew off the handle like that. I know in my heart that everyone has the right to run their farm how they want. There’s no rule that says she can’t have a dairy farm and sell the milk. Or sell butter. I don’t have a monopoly. Hell, I can’t even keep up with all the orders I get. It’s just?—”

“You felt threatened.”

She sighs heavily. “Exactly.”

“I understand.” I press a kiss atop her head, onto her thick, curling hair. “But you will not lose what you have built here. If you want help to increase your butter production, I am happy to assist. More work is not always the answer, though.”

“I just…” Michaela takes a deep breath, and her fingers twitch on my abdomen. “I felt like I was in a good place in the last month. I wanted to stay there. And I’m afraid of things changing.”

“Because you are saving to retrieve your sister.” It is a guess, but a good one. It has been her goal all along, has it not? “And you worry that you will not have the funds to rescue her after all. I understand your fear. Would you like me to contact the bounty hunters I know of and ask what they would charge to locate a human slave?”

Michaela is quiet for a long moment. “Not yet.”

I hug her to me tighter. Such a generous female. To think that she is still protecting me after all of this. Truly, I do not deserve someone so unselfish. “Then shall I kiss you until you forget?”

She hesitates. “Can we just…talk tonight? I’m not sure I’m in the mood for more.”

“Of course.” I agree easily but at the same time, I worry. What if she no longer wants to use me for sex? What if she is done with me?

I need to speak to Zebah or Bethiah and get their prices. I need to give Michaela a reason to adore me enough to keep me around.