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work and
tried to concentrate, but the image of her guest kept intruding.
    He
was gorgeous.
    She’d
seen great looking men before. None of them had affected her like Niail. There
was almost an invisible connection with him. She sensed him all the time. That
was crazy, though. He was an ordinary man.
    Extraordinary
was a better description of Niail. She shivered when she remembered how he had
manhandled Jake the previous night. Her brother never lost a fight. Even before
he had joined the Navy Seals, he had been unbeatable. He had finally met his
match with Niail, though.
    The
sound of the shower filtered through to the kitchen. Kimi glanced back at the
lesson plan and sighed. Now that he was awake she wouldn’t be able to
concentrate on school. She gathered the papers together and threw them in her
briefcase. Niail would be hungry when he had finished showering.
    She
had whipped up pancake batter by the time Niail came out of the bathroom. His
face was clean of stubble and he looked years younger. The shirt she had given
him was small and stretched over his chest. Every muscle was defined when he
lifted the damp towel toward her.
    “Where
can I put this?”
    “You
can hang it on the line outside, or leave it in the utility room at the side
door.”
    “I’ll
take it outside.” Niail turned to the door and then stopped. “Where are my
boots?”
    “They’re
in the utility room.” Kimi pulled a frying pan off the pot rack over the stove.
“Are you hungry?”
    “Very.”
    She
smiled and turned back to the stove. She lit the propane burner and within
minutes she had a stack of pancakes on the table. Syrup and some fresh fruit
completed the meal. She was pouring hot water onto ground coffee when he came
back into the house.
    “Sit.”
Kimi put the coffee carafe on the table. “You can eat first and then I’ll call
the kids in.”
    “Where
are they?”
    “They’re
building a small fort at the top of the hill behind the house.” Kimi sat and
pushed the pancakes at Niail. “After a fresh rain they like to make certain
it’s still standing.”
    Niail
filled his plate and started to eat. Kimi poured him coffee and then took a
couple of pancakes for herself. They ate for several minutes in silence. It
wasn’t until Niail had pushed his plate away and was sipping his coffee that he
looked up at her.
    “I
need to contact my team. Do you have a computer I could borrow?”
    “We’re
off the grid here.”
    Niail
frowned. “What does that mean?”
    “I
have no electricity, telephone, or internet.” Kimi put some milk in her coffee.
“I’m trying to raise my children as close to a traditional life as possible.”
    “What
tradition is that?”
    “I’m
Blackfeet.” When Niail still looked at her with a blank stare she sighed and
put her coffee down. “Native American?”
    “I
do not understand these terms.”
    “You
don’t know what a Native American is?”
    Niail
shook his head. “No. I have not been here long.”
    “The
Blackfeet existed long before the Europeans settled in North American. We lived
here when the Buffalo were plentiful and roamed the plains.”
    A
surge of pride filled Kimi. Her heritage was important. Unlike Jake, she had
immersed herself in the ways of her people, keeping the language and traditions
alive for those who had forgotten. It was why she lived without most of the
modern world’s trappings.
    “This
has been a long time?”
    “Since
Na’pi, Old Man, created the world. Old Man gave the Blackfeet this land and the
buffalo.” Kimi lowered her voice. “Many have forgotten the old ways, but I
won’t let that happen to my children.”
    Niail
nodded. “It is important to remember. Your people must have been here when the
Ancients visited.”
    “Who
are the Ancients?”
    “They
have been on Cygnus since the beginning of time.” Niail cleared his throat.
“They travel the universe, sometimes helping, sometimes taking what they need.
I believe they are what you refer to as Star