Amidst a Crowd of Stars by Megan Hart Page B

Earthers, he had meant their lifespans were longer. Once they reached maturity, they did not appear to age. They’d removed themselves almost entirely from the birth process. Genetics and specialized breeding had found a way to stop aging but not death; there was no fading away as there was in Earthers, no gradual decay and decline in quality of life as joints began to ache and vision faded, or memories began to disintegrate. If accident didn’t claim their lives, Seveerans simply reached a time when they no longer wished to live, and then they no longer did.
    It bothered her that he looked younger. When they went into Bosie, the people who saw them assumed Marrin Levy’s field-husband was good for more than planting and harvesting. That she’d hired herself a young lover as well as a laborer.
    Why it should bother her so much she couldn’t say, since essentially, for all intents and purposes, that was what she had done. Bought a man to replace the one who’d died. What nobody else knew was that she and Keane weren’t lovers. More like partners. And it wasn’t any of anyone’s business, was it?
    â€œI think I’ll go into town today,” she said one morning.
    Keane looked up from his newsform. “I’ll go with you.”
    â€œNo need.”
    He smiled easily. “I’d like to.”
    â€œI think I’d rather go by myself.” Her words sounded stiff without reason, angry without reason, and she saw confusion in his eyes. She lifted her chin.
    How could she explain that she didn’t want to walk down the street and listen to the whispers that followed them? Especially when they weren’t true.
    He got up from the table. “Marrin, did I do something wrong?”
    â€œNo, of course not.”
    He frowned, an expression that rarely crossed his face, and moved closer. “You look angry.”
    â€œWell, I’m not, okay?”
    Fuming, she crossed to the sink and ran the water, hard, though it wasted it. She splashed the dishes and slapped them with the sponge until he came over and twisted the faucet closed. He looked at her. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
    â€œI just want to spend some time by myself,” she snapped. “Is that so much to ask? Do we have to spend every moment together? Can’t I just have some time to myself for once?”
    She couldn’t look at him. Shame turned her face away so she wouldn’t have to see his look of hurt. She wiped her hands and started to move away.
    He reached out and grabbed her upper arm. It was the first time he’d ever touched her deliberately. His grip was strong. It would leave bruises if she tried to yank her arm from his fingers. She didn’t try.
    â€œIf I’ve done something—”
    â€œYou haven’t.”
    â€œMarrin.” Keane’s gentle voice made her want to cry. “Look at me.”
    She did then because she couldn’t help it. She kept her expression neutral. “What?”
    â€œAre you going to send me back? Release me from our contract?”
    His question surprised her. “No.”
    He nodded. “Good. Because I don’t want to go back.”
    He released her and she stepped away. “Why not?”
    She’d never asked him his reasons for agreeing to become a field-husband, for traveling light years from home to scratch out an existence on a planet as despairing as Lujawed. He’d never offered an explanation. She knew he wasn’t a criminal because the agency had done a thorough background check. But beyond that, he’d never spoken of home or family.
    She assumed his answer had something to do with some trauma on Seveer. A falling out with his family maybe. Or debts he couldn’t pay. What other reason could he have had for coming here, and not wanting to go back?
    He didn’t answer her question, but posed another one of his own. “Do you wish you’d never sent for me? Or that I was