Accidentally Married To A Demon - Mila Young Page 0,41

unlikely. You asked if I would be able to grow you some seedlings for you to plant once the land is ready to receive them, yes?"

I only nodded.

"I can see to it that the earth is receptive to the seedlings that I have begun to cultivate. I will not have them starve on unwelcoming soil."

"That is appreciated, but you should know that I don't have that much money to spare to pay you for that kind of service," I answered quickly, shifting my gaze around nervously. "There would be... I mean, I have some money, but not a lot."

"We can negotiate a price for the seedlings once they are ready to be planted," the dryad muttered. "And I can look over your land without pay. Gratis, as humans say."

If there was anything that I'd learned in my life, it was that nothing in the world was ever going to be free.

"Why would you help me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Suffice it to say that you are not the only one tricked into an impossible contract with those damn vampires," Cretu answered quietly, still not looking me in the eye as she continued to look after her plants.

"Oh," I grunted, looking down at the ground. I'd almost neglected the fact that these people had been dealing with the same vampires for centuries. "Thank you."

"I will be at the vineyard come the morning sun," she grumbled. "Now go. I need to prepare for the first bus coming soon."

Chapter 14

The sun was barely starting to peek up on the eastern horizon, but I was already out of the house, sitting on the porch, sipping a warm cup of coffee.

There was a lot of work to do, but I had been told to await a specialist of some repute, and that was what I was going to do. I knew a couple of things about getting a farm to produce, but acting like I knew how to produce wine grapes better than a centuries-old servant of the forests would be supremely arrogant of me.

Rog was nowhere to be found this early in the morning. I didn't even know if he was sleeping inside the house, except when he did so in my bed. That hadn't happened last night, and after dinner, he had disappeared, not telling me where he was going or why he was heading out.

Still, I wasn't his keeper. The demon could go wherever he liked. Even better if him going out of range would somehow void whatever I owed him from the contract that he'd tricked me into signing.

It wasn't long after I finished my coffee before I could see a woman walking toward the entrance. I couldn't say that I was surprised that a dryad would object to owning a vehicle, but it did beg the question of how she carried her produce to and from her little stall in town.

I wasn't going to ask her about it, of course. Firstly, because it really wasn't my business how she managed to get around, and secondly because I didn't want to somehow offend her. She’d made it clear that she was more interested in the spirit of respect than the letter of it, but I had a feeling that would come to an abrupt end if I started prying into her personal life.

She moved through the property, inspecting the grounds closely. At one point, she even dropped down onto her haunches, running her fingers through the dirt and sniffing it before brushing her hands clean on her pants.

I stood when she approached the terrace, although she showed no sign of recognition, still looking over the property. She looked like she had a rather permanent scowl on her face, but it was rather deeper now than it had been the day before.

"Hi," I said, waving my hand in greeting awkwardly. "Thanks again for coming. I don't think I'd be able to do much without your help."

"I can see why," she answered, clearing her throat and turning to look at me. "I was not aware that the place was allowed to deteriorate so. I see your problem is a little worse than I expected."

"Do you still think it's possible, but improbable?"

She smiled, which was the first time I'd seen her try that. "You should remember how powerful the earth is. Never underestimate its ability to recover over time. Even more powerful when it has a little help."

"That is what Rog said, that this place had all the potential in the world. Of course,