by Tasha Black
“Excuse me,” Burton said, sounding horrified.
He had bumped into one of the diners in a chair on the sidewalk.
Burton was truly enormous and the impromptu seating areas narrowed the sidewalk, even as the good weather had lots of residents out walking.
“That’s okay, sweetie,” the jostled lady said, smiling up at him with an expression that said jostle me anytime.
Tansy choked down a surprising flash of jealousy just in time to see an entire summer camp full of children heading their way down the sidewalk.
Each child held a paper cone of colorful water ice.
The counselor who led the way gave Burton a wide berth, but the little boy following crashed straight into him, staining his white t-shirt with neon blue razzle-berry.
“I’m sorry, mister,” the kid yelled, smacking at Burton’s front in a vain attempt to remove the sticky ice.
“It is quite alright,” Burton assured him politely.
The rest of the children trotted past quickly as Tansy tried to hide her smile. She figured it must be hard for the poor enormous alien in the crowded village. He would be happier back at the farm where everything was more on his scale.
“It is good to be around so many humans at once,” Burton said loudly. “It is so much more cheerful here in the city.”
Tansy was stunned.
“Yes,” she agreed without thinking, as she furiously wondered if he could mean what he said.
“Do you miss life in the city when you are at the farm?” he asked.
“Uh, not really,” Tansy said. “I mean the village is right here if we need anything.”
“And look at the lazy city lifestyle,” Burton said, indicating a cafe across the street where people in sunglasses nursed their iced coffees. “It’s almost lunchtime and these people have just woken up to have their coffee. That must be nice.”
Tansy couldn’t help thinking about the fact that Burton had been up at the crack of dawn each day since he had arrived on the farm. She had thought he was excited to start his day. But maybe he was only doing it to please her.
They had reached the drug store, so she tabled the thought until after their mission.
“Here we go,” she said, pushing open the door to Astro’s Apothecary.
“Can I help you?” asked a bored clerk through an enormous mouthful of chewing gum. She was too busy staring at her phone to look up at them.
“We are looking for Cali-vanilla Dreaming,” Burton said in his deepest, sexiest voice.
The clerk looked up and nearly dropped her phone.
“Wh-what’s that?” she asked.
“It’s a type of vape,” Tansy said. “Do you carry it?”
“What brand?” the girl asked, still staring at Burton.
Tansy pulled the ziplock bag with the little canister out of her bag and cleared her throat.
The clerk tore her eyes from Burton and shook her head.
“Nope, sorry, we don’t have it,” she told Tansy.
“Anything else I can do for you?” she asked Burton.
“No, thank you,” he told her politely and turned to Tansy. “Where should we try next?”
“Have you tried Planet of the Vapes?” the clerk offered.
Burton looked stunned and Tansy realized he might think it was an actual planet.
“Thanks,” Tansy said quickly. “We’ll check it out.”
“It’s part of that new open air market,” the clerk said, treating Burton to a wide smile. “I’m taking my break in a minute. Want me to show you?”
“No, thanks,” Tansy said, grabbing Burton by the hand and marching toward the door.
“Did she say there was an entire planet of vapes?” Burton asked as they emerged into the sunlight again.
“It’s just a cute name for a store,” Tansy explained.
“Ah,” Burton said. He looked a little disappointed.
Tansy smiled and they continued their walk.
“Ah, a hotel,” Burton said as they passed the town motel, Ground Control. “If I follow in the career of ambassador, like my brothers Bond, Rocky and Magnum, I could travel this planet, staying in fine hotels, like this one.”
Tansy observed Ground Control. There were many ways she could have described the squat brick edifice and its faded sign, but fancy was not one of them.
In fairness, Burton was currently living in a barn.
“I guess it must seem unfair to travel so far only to have to live in a lab and then a barn,” she said sympathetically.
“Oh, not at all,” he said kindly. His expression went suddenly blank and then icy cold. “It’s worse than unfair, it’s… monstrous.”
“I’m so sorry,” Tansy said, horrified. “I guess we’ve been terrible hosts. I’ll talk to Sage tonight. We should make better arrangements since you’ll be with us a while.”
Burton’s jaw flexed and he turned away from her, focusing his attention on the sidewalk ahead of them.
Tansy fought back the tears that prickled against her eyelids.
The open-air market was only a few blocks away. It had started up when the aliens were revealed in Stargazer. Suddenly the town was filled with reporters and visitors. And some of the visitors were there with food carts and souvenir stands.
Just get through this trip to the village, find out whose vape canister this is, and go home, she told herself. You can figure out what’s going on with Burton back at the farm.
It was always easier to think at the farm, Tansy was comforted slightly by the knowledge that they would be there soon.
They passed a familiar vehicle on their way.
“Is that…?” Burton asked, indicating the souped-up pickup with the wide rear end.
“Gretchen Peterson’s truck,” Tansy said. The one that had led them on the wild goose chase to the Peterson farm. “She works at one of the restaurants around here.”
She continued to walk, trying not to think about what else had happened after their adventure and escape from the neighboring farm. A few minutes later, they reached the market.
Planet of the Vapes was a small booth in the far corner. Tansy marched up to it swiftly.
The young man at the counter looked almost surprised to see someone approach.
“Hey, man,” he said appreciatively to Tansy. “Oh,” he added, as Burton joined them.
“I’m looking for this flavor,” Tansy said, whipping the baggie out of her purse and presenting it to the longhaired proprietor.
“Found your juice flavor, huh?” he asked sympathetically, nodding his head up and down as if to some music Tansy couldn’t hear.
“Uh, yes, something like that,” Tansy said.
“Righteous,” the guy said. “But we don’t have that brand here, it’s kind of high end. Did you get it online?”
“No,” Tansy said. “Someone gave it to me.”
“Well, Darth Vaper is the only other specialty in Stargazer,” he said. “But they only sell their proprietary brand. You could try Holy Smokes over in Mount Joy.”
“Thanks,” Tansy said. “I really appreciate your time.”
“My pleasure, little lady,” the man said, stroking his blond goatee. “Can I offer you a sample? Maybe I’ve got something you would like just as much as what you have there.”
“We’re all set,” Burton said roughly.
Tansy blinked up at him, but Burton only grabbed her by the hand and started walking.
She went along with him, fuming inside. Burton had seemed like such a nice guy. Now all of a sudden he was blowing hot and cold and acting crazy jealous, especially for a guy who apparently couldn’t wait to leave her and the farm behind.
When they were nearly back at the car she wrenched her hand away from his.
“Tansy,” Burton said. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Last night you’re telling me you want to be my mate. Today you can’t wait to leave. What’s going on?”
“Oh, Tansy,�
� he said, his eyes wide with sorrow. “I didn’t mean that I wanted to leave you behind.”
“Then what did you mean?” she asked.
“I want you to come with me,” he said.
Tansy buttoned her lip, afraid of what she might say next.
“Tansy, look,” Burton said in a soft, encouraging voice. “Look at the dress in that window.”
She looked up. In the window a mannequin wore a filmy white dress that would have looked at home on a fifties starlet.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you could wear pretty dresses like this and be interviewed on TV instead of wearing dirty old overalls and working so hard on the farm all the time?”
This time Tansy made no attempt to quell the hot tears that sprang to her eyes. But she wasn’t going to sob in front of him.
Instead she marched to the car silently, tears sliding off her cheeks.
“Tansy,” Burton called after her.
She ignored him and got into the driver’s seat.
He jogged up and got in the passenger’s side.
“Tansy, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said. “I only wanted to offer you a different life.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Tansy said. “I don’t want to talk at all right now. I just want to go home.”
Burton opened his mouth and then closed it again.
She started the engine and prayed she could keep herself in check enough to drive home.
15
Tansy
Tansy parked the car back at the farm and hopped out.
“Tansy,” Burton said.
“I just need some time alone,” she muttered.
She dashed into the house, hoping he wouldn’t follow.
At least it was well into the regular work day. Sage would be locked up in Grandma Helen’s office by now with the books. And Arden would be out working on the farm with Drago and Riggs.
Tansy could curl up in bed and have a good cry.
“Tansy?” Arden asked from the kitchen.
“Hey,” Tansy said, trying not to show her pain on her face.
She must have done a terrible job.
“Oh, Tansy, what’s wrong?” Arden asked.
“It’s Burton,” Tansy said, tears threatening again at the kindness in her friend’s voice.
“You need sister mode,” Arden sounded so excited that Tansy smiled. “Except that Sage isn’t here, she had to run into town.”
“You can do sister mode,” Tansy said. “I think you’ll be good at it.”
“Stay right where you are,” Arden said, grabbing a pitcher out of the refrigerator.
Tansy watched as Arden poured out two large glasses of lemonade. Her friend had been paying attention when Tansy and Sage went into what they called sister mode to comfort her about guy troubles before Arden had gotten together with Drago.
“Come on,” Arden said, heading back to the living room.
She placed the glasses on the coffee table and pulled two huge cushions onto the floor beside it.
Tansy curled up on one and Arden sat down beside her and handed her a lemonade.
“So, tell me everything,” Arden said.
Tansy took a sip of the sweet, tangy beverage and felt a little better.
“Last night, we… well, we spent some time together,” Tansy said.
“Are you mated?” Arden looked excited at the prospect.
“No,” Tansy said. “But he told me that he chose me.”
“That’s nice,” Arden said with a gentle smile. “But you’re not sure whether to accept him?”
“Well, that wasn’t the issue exactly,” Tansy said. “I was actually feeling open to it. But then today in town…”
“Let me give you a little advice,” Arden said knowingly. “Wherever you go with that man, for the rest of your life, women are going to stare at him, flirt with him, you name it. And he’s always going to be polite to them, because that’s his nature. But if he chose you, he only wants you. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be to watch women throw themselves at him.”
“That’s not it,” Tansy said. “Though you have a good point.”
“Damn it, I’m not good at sister mode,” Arden said.
“You’re very good at sister mode,” Tansy told her. “It’s just that there is no way you could guess what happened today. He’s been so happy on the farm. You see that, right?”
“Sure,” Arden said lightly.
Tansy wondered why her friend was being noncommittal, but she forged on.
“The minute we got into the village he was going on and on about how much he likes being in a crowd and how he wants to sleep late and stay in fancy hotels,” Tansy said. “I mean, my gosh, he gets one taste of what he considers the ‘city life’ and he doesn’t want to live on a farm anymore.”
“He traveled the universe to learn more about this planet,” Arden said gently. “You can’t blame him for wanting to see more of it.”
“But that’s the problem,” Tansy said. “I have to save this place. I can’t go touring around the country wearing pretty dresses and smiling on TV.”
“I know the farm means a lot to you,” Arden said carefully. “But you could always work in agriculture later in your life. Maybe it’s better to focus on going back to school and looking forward to a career. Burton would probably love to live on campus with you. It would be a perfect compromise.”
“How can you say that?” Tansy asked. “This place means everything to me. I can’t lose it.”
“Isn’t Dolly Strickland interested?” Arden asked. “I’ll bet she would keep things just the way they are. Maybe you could buy it back from her one day.”
It suddenly occurred to Tansy that if Arden knew about Dolly’s offer, she’d been talking to Sage. She probably knew all about Tansy’s student loans, too.
The idea that Arden was privy to her private finances was so mortifying to Tansy that she launched herself off the cushion.
“I should probably do a spot check on the irrigation system,” she said. “I wasted too much time in town today.”
Arden stood and observed Tansy solemnly.
“I’m really sorry I couldn’t make you feel better, Tansy,” Arden said. “I care about you a lot. I hope you know that. And I’m deeply grateful to you and Sage for all you’ve done to help me and Drago and Riggs and Burton.”
“It was our pleasure,” Tansy replied. “And thanks for listening. I’ll be okay. I just need to get back to work. Taking care of the farm always makes me feel better.”
Arden nodded, but she still looked worried.
16
Burton
Burton looked out over the horse field in the northern meadow. It was peaceful here. Peanut Butter and Pickles grazed contentedly under a blue sky, their silky tails flicking away the occasional fly.
If not for the morning with Tansy, it could have been a perfect day.
Burton was grateful that Arden had given him a task that allowed him some time alone. Mending the split rail fence was a one-person job and it required enough physical effort to provide a little relief from the stress he felt.
As he wrested another rotted rail from the posts, he thought back to the morning and what he had done wrong.
He had needed Tansy to know that he would be happy with a life off the farm. And he had tried to show her in a positive manner, as Drago suggested. He had not said bad things about the farm, a level of deception he was sure he couldn’t master, and more importantly, something he thought would upset her. Instead, he had expressed admiration of all the things he could offer her if they left.
But she had reacted with dismay anyway.
Drago had said that he suspected the women of holding onto the farm only in order to hide them.
But when Burton searched his feelings, he couldn’t agree that this was Tansy’s only motivation. If her reactions to his words today told him what he thought they did, then she wanted to stay on the farm because she truly loved it, because it m
ade her happy to be here.
And Burton could relate to that.
Being here made him happy too.
A lot of that had to do with Tansy. But he loved the place on its own merits too. He adored the animals. The fresh food tasted better than anything he had ever eaten. The physical labor felt good and allowed him to sleep hard and wake up early, ready for more interesting chores.
Peanut Butter whickered and tossed his mane.
“I agree, boy,” Burton told the animal. “This is a happy place.”
But Peanut Butter was trotting away from him, toward the southern end of the paddock.
Burton didn’t need to share the creature’s mind to see what the pony was seeing.
Tansy was heading up from the berry fields, her dark hair shining in the sunlight.
Burton’s heart leapt.
She was coming to find him. She was thinking about him too. He could talk with her, fix everything somehow.
He dropped his tools and headed down to meet her.
As he got closer, he could see she was wearing a serious expression. Her blue eyes were determined.
“Tansy,” he called to her. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been thinking about this morning. I’m very sorry that I upset you.”
“It’s fine,” Tansy said in a way that made him think it wasn’t fine. “I wanted to talk to you too.”
“I’m glad,” he told her. “I don’t ever want you to run away from me when you are angry. Please tell me how you feel. Tell me how I can make things better.”
She closed her blue eyes and looked down at her hands for a moment.
“Burton, I’ve been thinking,” she said. “A relationship between us isn’t going to work.”
“Tansy…” he said, trying to think of what to say next. He had expected her to be angry, or hurt.
He had not expected this.
“I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you,” she said, still looking down at her hands.
He looked at her hands too. They were beautiful - tanned and calloused - the hands of someone who worked hard at a job she loved.