Mesmerized by Lauren Dane Page B

resist the jab. And she wasn’t sorry when he looked up, one brow raised imperiously, a smile on his face.
    “She’s a little young.”
    “And her father is a lot big.”
    He snorted. “That, too. This is in bad shape, Piper.” He indicated the valve.
    “It’s been struggling. Eiriq put in an order for a new one, but you know how long that takes.”
    He sighed, looking it over. He drew a soft cloth over it, noting the pockmarks. “Don’t know if this can survive another big storm. Do you have a shop here? I can fashion a replacement if you’ve got the tools and raw materials.”
    “You can?”
    “I have a few skills that come in handy at times like these.”
    “So you say.” She stood, brushing her hands off. “Come on. We’ve got a shop of sorts. Let’s see if it’s what you need.”
    He stood and followed. A fierce need to know about him had burned her gut; now it flushed over her skin. What had he been doing that he was so proficient at mechanics as well as killing men?
    What she did know, as they moved through the compound, was that he didn’t miss anything. His careful, wary eyes took in everything and everyone.
    “This is good.” He looked around, placing the valve on the tabletop in the makeshift shop. “What you’ve built here.”
    “Things need fixing. It makes sense to have a place to repair our gear.”
    He bent to look through some scrap metal, pulling out pieces, rejecting most. “I meant the compound.”
    She hopped up onto a nearby stool and gave over to the simple pleasure at watching him work. “Thank you. We try. You know Taryn. He saw a need and wanted to fill it. Most of the families here are his doing.”
    “I’ve taken a look around. I’d like to speak to the three of you later about some ways to improve on what you have.”
    “Talk to me now about it. I’m here.”
    “Yes, you are. But I’m sure your brothers have a few things to say about how things run around here as well.”
    She wanted to know more but would force herself to be patient until later. “They do, yes. But they’d be the first to tell you I make all the big decisions. The final choice, I mean. We do try to run things by consensus.”
    “You need a better water collection system. Given the rate of population here, you’re vastly underequipped. One cistern is not enough.”
    “I know. It’s on the list of projects. But the list is long.”
    “There are thirty-one adults living here. Most of them are able-bodied. Why are they not all working on it now?”
    They’d asked for volunteers, but it was slow going. Not everyone had the expertise, and she told him so.
    “Does everyone here drink and use the water for home and cooking? Yes. Everyone here eats the produce from Taryn’s greenhouses. There’s no volunteering when it comes to using the water, so why not assign people a task? You can’t make this work if everyone isn’t invested.”
    Kenner had made a similar comment, but coming from Andrei, it was easier to hear for some reason.
    “They look to you for direction, Piper. It’s why they stay. They could live in town if they wanted. But they choose to be here, and you provide them with something. Let them be invested in this place, too. Starting with giving them some shovels and getting some pits for the cisterns started. I can draw out some rough plans for the cisterns themselves.”
    Eleven years later, he walks back into her life and begins taking care of her again. “I’ll discuss it with the others. Thank you. Where’d you learn all this?” She indicated the tabletop strewn with bits of metal.
    “I was stuck on Parron once. Eight standard months.” He shuddered as he made some quick calculations and began to measure out the piece he needed to replace. “The place I stayed in was little more than a pile of broken shit.”
    The way he was now might have been different than he’d been before, but there was something very comfortable about being with him. The way he moved was