King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) by Marie Johnston (great novels .TXT) 📗

there?” Xander called. He’d finished the branch I’d brought him and was watching us, the ax impaling the stump. From his vantage point, we probably looked like we were facing off.

“We’re bonding,” I called.

“Okay?”

“Bonding?” Rina asked, a faint smile still on her lips. “Like, friends?”

“As long as you don’t spoil me. I need a little more reality in my life.”

She fought a smile and her gaze swept over the small area I’d been clearing all morning. It was half the size of hers. “You have a lot of branches to haul and you’ve been talking too long. That kind of real?”

My arms were starting to burn for it. “You have to admit, you didn’t think I would hang on this long.”

She shook her head. “I thought you were going to cry after the first row of seeds.”

The planting fiasco. Putting seeds in dirt should’ve been easier, but there were directions to read and details to pay attention to. This was how Eris and Hector made a living and they’d had to keep correcting me. I’d lost a crapload of radish seeds in one corner when I’d spilled the bag. I’d never get my pants clean after kneeling in the dirt to save as many seeds as I could.

But I’d done it. I’d also helped haul lumber off the truck that delivered the supplies for the next cabin Hector was building.

I was still grinning when I dropped my armload by the wood chipper pile.

“What did I just witness? Both you and Rina are smiling. At the same time.”

“I think I need her.” I swiped my gloves together, my grin triumphant. Energy infused my muscles and I no longer felt like dropping in a pile of blood, sweat, and tears.

I hadn’t had much time since arriving in this country to get to know my husband, but I was getting to know myself, and maybe that was the real first step to making this crazy, impulsive relationship work.

Xander

Savvy was blooming like the wildflowers along the house that Eris had planted. She and Rina were fast friends after another week of playful bickering, and I could see why. Rina didn’t coddle Savvy. She expected my wife to take care of herself and get shit done, and Savvy did.

We’d cleared another area in the trees and I’d started helping Hector build a small cabin. There was even a set of hikers in the first cabin Hector had erected two years ago. Eris was busy cooking and cleaning for them with Rina’s and Savvy’s help.

I propped a boot on the edge of a couple of two-by-fours, placed a nail at the joint, and swung my hammer. The pounding was a familiar sound. This would be a lot faster with a nail gun, but the budget didn’t allow for it. Hopefully, once Hector got this cabin built he could rent it out enough to pay for itself and buy some extra tools to build more.

I was almost done with this wall. It was early morning but since the summer had started unusually hot, we worked early mornings and tried to hang out in the house in the afternoons. There wasn’t AC, but the lower level was pleasant with the paddle ceiling fans running.

Hector emerged from the house and started through the field, along the little path that Rina and Savvy had made while clearing the land. It’d be covered in pea rock to keep from dragging mud into either dwelling, but we’d worry about that when we had a building that resembled something someone could sleep in.

I kind of wanted to see Savvy pushing a wheelbarrow. She’d learn to do it. Nothing stopped that woman. Admiration swelled in my chest.

We’d snuck some kisses here and there, and I’d had to reassure her that getting to sleep next to her each night on our small twin mattress was enough. I wasn’t lying. I might be hard as granite when I went to sleep holding her and again when I woke her up with soft kisses down her neck, but we were together and that was all that mattered. She’d groan and complain about sore muscles. I’d massage the worst spots, fight a painful erection, and then let her get ready for another day of hard work.

Hector approached. I straightened and took a few steps to the left to hit a patch of shade. The strength of the sun diminished to tolerable.

“Great news. We rented out the second cabin for all next week.”

“Awesome, man. How many?” My brain circled over the to-dos to get the place ready. Since they hadn’t been rented, we’d worked on other tasks that were harder to do when snow was on the ground.

“Four. Two couples. They said they were okay sleeping on cots when I told them how small the cabin was.”

“They just want a roof over their heads.” Made sense. The customers Hector’s business attracted were harder core than the average hiker. These people probably just wanted a dry place to store their gear while they explored and if they got the bonus of a roof over their head during rainy days, even better.

“Savvy offered to clean it up, but when she walked through, she said there might be a small leak in the roof.”

“Want me to take a look?” I was in the middle of building a frame, but I offered anyway.

“Sure. Yeah.” He puffed out his chest and clapped his hands. “I need to work off some of this energy. The summer bookings are filling up fast.”

“For the outdoor sites too?”

“Yeah.” He grinned. His dream was coming to fruition.

Damn. What would that feel like? He’d had a goal and he’d worked steadily toward it. I’d left my camera in the bedroom since that day Rina had looked through it. I’d seen plenty of photo-worthy sights. Sunsets. Rain clouds gathering over the peak of Ljuboten. Savvy and Rina squatting in the garden, pulling weeds and thinning out sprouts. My fingers itched to point and click, but my camera was in