Homesteading on Jord by Allan Joyal

Author:Allan Joyal [Joyal, Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19: The Haze of Summer

The storm continued for hours. Everyone remained huddled in the trees as we waited for the wind to finally die down. Rain came at intermittent intervals and never seemed to fall hard. I held my loves and listened until exhaustion finally dragged me to sleep.

I woke when warm sunlight struck my face. I opened my eye and could see the sun rising over the eastern end of the valley. Heather was spooned against my back. I noticed that Cimbra was missing and sat up to look around.

At first I thought Cimbra had run off, but once my eyes adjusted to the sunlight I could see her clearing dirt from the area where we usually laid our fire. She appeared to be the only other person awake so I unwound from Heather's embrace and moved to join her.

She looked up as I approached. "It might be good to get dressed," she noted.

I looked down and realized that other than my boots I had not pulled on any clothing the day before during our mad rush to shelter. Sighing I looked around. "Do we have anything that's dry?"

"For you?" Cimbra asked merrily. "But I like what I see."

"Cimbra," I said allowing my fatigue and exasperation to set the tone.

"The bedrolls over our goods kept them dry, and I found several packs with clothing. I think some might actually be yours," Cimbra said pointing to the stack of barrels and packs.

I sighed and started to walk over to the packs. I was about halfway to them when Cimbra's right hand touched my bare shoulder. "Ron, are you mad at me?" she asked shyly.

"I'm tired," I said. "The storm might have ruined the crops. I have no idea if any of the herd died or ran off. We need to build a better shelter, but we need the wall built as well. There is too much to do, and we are going to struggle with how few people we have."

"I've tried to help," Cimbra said.

I put my arms around Cimbra and pulled her in for a hug. As I held her I pressed my lips to hear. "Love," I whispered. "You help every day. I have never denied that. I'm just tired. None of us slept well last night, but we will have a lot to do this morning."

Cimbra put her arms around me and returned the kiss. She held me close for several moments until I could feel drops falling onto my shoulder. I pushed her away and could see tears glistening in her eyes.

"Heather said," she said with a sob. "Heather said that you loved me and would never hurt me. She said that she had grown to love me and would always share you. I couldn't believe it. I was going to ask if I could leave the valley because I thought I'd never be with you fully."

"I'd never allow you to wander alone," I said firmly. "You mean too much to me."

"I know that now," Cimbra said.

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