Even Mallory, for all her skill in comforting, hadn’t been able to keep Neil out of the hayloft. He sat with his bandaged arm wrapped around his knee, watching the wind rustle through the trees. Katie grimaced as she stepped over the top of the ladder and sank next to him.

“My friend, Katherine, is coming today,” she said. “She needs to measure you, so she can make you some clothes. Did you know you’re the biggest guy in the town?”

Neil’s eyebrows twitched, before he glanced sidelong at her.

“It’s true,” Katie said. “Most of the men are about Jeremy’s height, though he says his dad was taller. Anyway, you’ll like Katherine. She’s calm. More like Mallory than me.”

She trailed off because something Neil’s was staring into the barnyard. Katie twisted, then both winced and grinned as she caught sight of Jeremy and Malory who were kissing near the pigpen. “Haven’t you seen anyone kiss before?”

Neil shook his head.

Katie straightened. “Not even your parents?”

He sent her a baffled look and shook his head. Too startled to choose his words, he sputtered, “What…for?”

 “That’s what people do when they really like each other,” Katie stammered. “I mean, when they want to get married and have a family and live together. And…I don’t actually know why. It…it just feels nice.”

The man’s eyebrows twitched with his thoughts as his eyes roved the bits of hay on the floor. Katie swallowed, hoping he didn’t try to kiss her and trying to think of something kind that would deter him.

“You can’t just kiss anyone though,” she said. “She has to want to kiss you back.”

Neil blinked. His jawbone bulged before he said, “Like Clark.”

She sat stunned, but she replied, “Yes.”

“I saw.”

“You did?”

“I…didn’t know…why.”

Katie bit her lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Clark. I have wanted to be with Clark for almost my entire life. I was scared to tell you because I didn’t think you’d let me leave if you knew. And then I didn’t think you’d come with me if you knew. And I wanted you to come. I wanted you to have a home here like I do.”

Neil blinked. “You broke my home.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” She shifted, turning toward him. “But you could make a new home. Easier than I can, honestly. You can buy just about any house here that you like. And you’ve got plenty of money to live on while you decide what kind of work you like to do. No one is going to shock you if you don’t build worlds. Neil gets to decide what Neil wants to do.”

He glanced back at her with somber eyes, but they were no longer dull.

“And when you’re ready, you can meet all the villagers,” Katie said. “We do lots of things together. Sometimes we’ll all work on building a new barn, sometimes we have weddings and dances, sometimes we go hunting or out to collect mesquite pods. You can have a lot of friends, not just me. And, probably, someday you’ll realize you want to kiss one of them and she’ll want to kiss you back.”

“But not you.”

“Not me,” Katie answered.

Neil took a breath and his eyes returned to the barnyard, but Jeremy and Mallory had gone back to their chores. She braced, but then he asked, “What is…mesquite pod?”

Katie huffed a laugh and pointed through the window. “See that scraggly tree? That’s a mesquite. They make seed pods in June, and we collect them. You can grind up the seeds to make a kind of bread and alcohol.”

“What’s alcohol?”

“It’s a kind of drink. But don’t drink too much of it, or you’ll do dumb things and get sick.”

He threw her an incredulous look. “Why drink?”

“It’s just what some people do.”

One side of his face scrunched before he shook his head. “Villagers weird.”

“Hallo!” Katherine’s voice carried. She stood on the porch in a brown cloak.

Katie hung out of the hayloft to call. “We’re up here!”

Katherine turned, grinned, and walked across the yard. Neil paled but made no protest beyond a swallow.

“She’s bringing a surprise,” Katie said before the man could flee. “She wouldn’t even tell me what it is.”

She was glad she’d invited Katherine to meet Neil before Allison’s boisterous personality came along or they were confronted with any of the Blackwell glares. The girl represented an average villager: just a plain worker who made a steady living off of sewing and friendly chitchat.

Katherine climbed the ladder, clutching one arm against her cloak like she was hiding something under it. Even though she’d been prepared for Neil’s height, she still blinked in surprise when she saw him sitting next to Katie.

He watched her, warily, but with enough curiosity that Katie relaxed. “Neil, this is Katherine. Katherine, Neil.”

“Hello, Neil.” Katherine offered her hand.

Neil threw a panicked glance toward Katie.

Katherine’s smile slipped and she began to drop her hand, but Katie stood and said, “In our village, we shake hands like this.”

She took Katherine’s hand and gave it a shake, though their usual greeting had always been a quick hug.

Neil blinked. “Why?”

“I…don’t know that either.” Katie said, then laughed, looking toward Katie. “Neil is making me rethink everything we do.”

“It’s just a way to show that you’re willing to be friends,” Katherine said. “That you’re not going to hurt each other.” She offered her hand again to the man.

He pushed himself to his feet, and Katherine kept her smile even when he towered over her. Her hand nearly disappeared inside of Neil’s as he took it, and Katie hoped he didn’t squeeze it too hard.

But he swallowed and found the best version of his voice as he said, “Hello.”

“Hi,” Katherine’s smile spread a bit. “Katie tells me you like lions.”

Neil’s eyes roamed from her, then back warily. “Yes.”

“Have you ever seen a kitten?”

The man’s face blanked as he released her hand. Thrown off, he only offered a mute headshake.

“They’re like lions,” Katherine said. She reached beneath her cloak and pulled out a wriggling orange kitten. “Little tiny lions.”

“Katherine!” Katie gasped, the laughed. “Mallory is going to have words for you!”

Her friend grinned outright. “I asked Jeremy if I could give Neil a kitten. He said yes.”

Katie snorted. “Oh, then Mallory is going to have words for him.”

Neil’s head tilted and traveled forward as he stared at the creature. He reached toward it, stroked the long hair with one finger. His mouth traveled upward higher than she’d ever seen it.

It had never occurred to Katie to get Neil a kitten, but it was a brilliant move on Katherine’s part. The intrigue made Neil relax and the antics made Katherine laugh and the three spent nearly an hour in the loft, vying for the pet’s attention with bits of straw.

When Mallory called them for dinner, Katie hesitated, suddenly worried Neil would choose a cat over dinner. But she said, “Neil, we should leave it in a crate out here. Mallory won’t like it in the house.”

Neil’s grin slipped. He eyed the kitten. But then his eyes flickered to Katherine as she stood and brushed the hay off. His eyes fell, roved the corner as he swallowed. But he rose without protest. As they neared the porch and it’s door, Katie felt his hand brush hers, but when she glanced down, he’d pulled his fingers into a trembling fist. His breath grew tighter as he climbed each of the wooden steps.

He watched while Mallory greeted Katherine with a hug instead of a handshake. When they cleared the door, he swayed back toward the barn.
Katie pressed her lips together, waiting for him.

He glanced at her, took a breath, and stepped across the threshold.