Ragnarok: Colonization, intrigue and betrayal. by Andrew Claymore (best book reader .txt) 📕

had a good reputation with the buyers.Then…” She sighed. “Then a hill gave way beneath the tractorand my husband was killed.

“His brotherpushed me out and took the farm.” Sheshrugged.

“You don’t soundall that angry about it,” Frank observed.

She smiled, stillwatching the game. “My mother warned me not to leave our financesin my husband’s name. It was easy enough for my brother-in-law toget his hands on the land – that was always a possession of theirfamily – but it would have taken a lot of lawyers to get at ourpersonal account, if at all.

“He didget to take over the loans, though. Really big ones that we used toput another ten acres into production. We were planning to clear theloans early, using our savings so we could get ahead of theinterest.”

“Money he doesn’thave access to?” Frank asked.

She nodded. “He quita lucrative job, burning a few bridges in the process, in order tocheat me. He ended up selling his apartment in Mumbai and moving intothe warehouse in Kerala to get the cash for loan payments.

“Last year, thebank evicted him when they took over the property.” She looked atFrank. “Karma makes no exceptions. We are not punished forour sins, but bythem.”

“Is it strange that Ifeel good about what happened to him but still feel bad as well?”

“Not if you’re agood person,” she assured him, resting a hand lightly on hisshoulder.

She had to take herhand away to avoid spilling the mug she had on her lap. “Anyway, Itook Vikram back to my hometown and got a job. My mother wanted toarrange another marriage for me but it just seemed so risky. What ifa new husband wanted control of my money?”

“Theystill arrangemarriages in India?” Frankblurted in surprise.

“Why not?”

“It seems so…”He racked his brain for a word that wouldn’t be offensive. “…Old-fashioned.”

She gave him alook that seemed to say ‘I thought you were smarter than that’.“Nearly half of all weddings in your country come from onlinematch-making websites. Do you really think a short questionnaire anda few algorithms can do a better job than your own family?”

“Well…”He realized he had no argument against that. Heinclined his head as a bow of sorts. “Fair point. Isuppose you run into fewer weirdos your way.”

“And withoutit, I’ve run into you,”shesaid mischievously.

“Wait.” He stoppedin mid-nod. “Does that hint that I’m a weirdo?” he asked herlightly.

She giggled. “It’shard to say without context. I’ve always heard that you westernersare brash and aggressive but you’ve made no… I think you’d callit a ‘move’…”

“…” Frank said,his brain’s speech-center going into emergency reset.

She leaned in slightly,lowering her voice. “A woman knows when she’s being checked out,”she told him. “When it’s just a single glance, we ignore it, butwhen it keeps happening...”

Frank barely managed tokeep the grimace from his face. He had been checking her out – on anearly continuous basis. He thought he’d managed to get his eyesback up to meet hers in time while they were walking down here andshe’d turned unexpectedly.

Probably a bit too slow, hetold himself. He knew he wasacting like a hormone-addled teenager but he couldn’t seem to stop.

Those jeans fit herperfectly. The light shade of denim showed every sublime curve ingently shadowed detail…

He rememberedwith a start that she was watching him, leaningclose.

Very close.

Some part of his brain,a part with far more sense than the conscious part, took over. Hewatched with a thrill of excitement as he leaned in and kissed her.

After a long,languorous moment, they withdrew to allow for breath. “I wasstarting to wonder whether you’d get around to that,” shewhispered.

“I was unsure,”Frank said quietly, “about the differences in our beliefs...”

“You seemedpretty sure just now,” she said softly.

He nodded. “I am.”

“Good!” Shegrinned. “Then it’s not really necessary for you to become aMethodist just for me, isit?”

“A Methodist?”Frank gasped at the coffee he’d just spilled on his lap.

She put a hand over hermouth but there was no hiding how amused she was. “Are youalright?”

“Yeah,” hesaid, then remembered the kiss. “Better than alright,” he gaveher a smile. Wait, what did she mean by Methodist?“You said Methodist…”

“Germanmissionaries,”she said. “Back in the early nineteenth century.” Shecocked her head to the side. “I would have thought Mr. Kawle wouldhave told you that. The two of you seem to be getting on quite well.”

“No,” saidFrank, confused. “He just said off-limits…”

She sighed, shaking herhead in wry amusement. “He’s a little old-fashioned, like a fewof the ladies on this ship as well. He was probably trying to warnyou against bad luck.”

“Bad luck?”

“My husband died, yousee. Someone needs to be blamed.”

“Why wouldn’tit be his luck?”

“Well, the evidenceis starting to pile up,” she said dryly, gesturing at his wet leg.

“Hmm, you could beright,” he said with mock seriousness. “If that’s the price Ihave to pay for kissing you, let’s go put on a pot of coffee!”

Her startled laugh drewlooks from around the cargo hold but she didn’t notice. She leanedin again.

Frank kissed her, safein the knowledge that his mug was already empty. Then he realizedwhere his choices had been leading him, ever since he’d investedheavily in his greenhouses.

The kiss ended and hepulled back, just enough to look into her eyes.

“What?” she askedbut her eyes shifted right, glancing at Vikram and Terry who werestill absorbed in their hybrid game. She met his gaze again.

“We make orbit inless than a week…” she said.

He took a deep breath.“And we’ll need to pick out our plots, build houses, get crops inthe ground…”

“It acceleratesthings, doesn’t it?”

He nodded, smiling.“I’m not complaining.”

Summer Job

The Mouse, In path

“Get up,lazybones!” Adelina pounded on the door. “They’re not payingyou to liein bed till lunchtime every day!”

“Yes, they are.”Gabriella groaned. This is exactly what they brought me for,whether they realize it or not. She sat up and stretched.“They’re paying me to be a teenager. We’re moody, night-owllate-sleepers.”

She called up a holocontrol and opened her door, letting her mom into her room. “Youshould probably do some complaining about what a pain in the ass Iam. Maybe in the cafeteria.”

Adelina hopped on thebed and sat next to her daughter. “Looks like you got the sameview, huh?”

“I know, right?”Gabriella rolled her eyes. “I mean, what are