Rae stepped closer and placed her right under her arm. “Whoa, easy there. Maybe we’ll take the grand tour later. Let me just help you into bed.” As she guided Kellen toward the bedroom, Rae hoped she’d made the bed before she left. Seeing ruffled sheets, she groaned inwardly. No such luck. “Sorry for the mess, Kellen. I’ll straighten up later.”
“Don’t worry. I can help.” Kellen yawned. “Later.”
“Much later, by the looks of it,” Rae teased, desperate to keep their conversation light.
Kellen lay down and jerked at the covers. “I’m so tired all of a sudden.”
“Stop, stop, let me take your boots off.” Rae unfastened the buckles on the black combat boots. “There you go.” She tucked the covers in around her wife, not thinking how her thoughtfulness might seem to Kellen. “You take a nice nap. I’ll page Gemma and have her come over this afternoon when things settle down in the infirmary.”
“Thank you.” Kellen’s voice was dreamy but her grasp tight as she caught Rae’s left hand in hers. “I mean it. Thank you.”
An unfamiliar feeling constricted Rae’s throat. At a loss for words, she held Kellen’s hand until her delicate eyelids covered the blue brilliance of her eyes. Tucking her hand in under the covers as well, Rae straightened her aching back. As she looked down at her wife, a sudden paresis in her throat made it impossible to swallow. “You’re welcome.”
She left the bedroom and headed for the small kitchen area. Reaching up for the big jar of Cormanian coffee, she tapped the dispensing sensor twice, wanting her beverage strong. Water boiled instantly in the safer-glass jug in its niche in the wall, and she poured it over the condensed coffee.
Rae drew a trembling breath, her hands unsteady as she raised the rounded titanium Keep-Hot cylinder-mug to her face and blew the steaming beverage. The look on Armeo’s face almost did me in. Rae shuddered at how close she’d come to botching it with the boy. Still, he seems okay for now. Kellen’s done a good job raising him. Armeo seemed secure in his approach to things, not afraid to show emotions. What if I end up keeping him at the same distance my parents kept me? What if I’m just not cut out for parenthood? Five years is a long time in a child’s life. And Kellen…
The look on Kellen’s face when Rae suggested marriage might very well haunt her for a long time. Rae knew she’d given Kellen very little time--hardly any--to think things over. But what choice did she have? M’Ekar would’ve been able to demand her extradition on the spot, more or less.
Stirring her habitual coffee even though she didn’t take synth-o-sweet in it anymore, Rae wandered into the living room and stood looking out the view port. The incredible vastness of space ought to have made her feel small and insignificant, but it didn’t. Instead it filled her with a sense of adventure, a desire to explore and encounter new worlds, species, and…She shook her head. I do love the element of danger. That’s another thing that makes me unsuitable for being part of a family unit.
She was completely without experience in this matter. Emotionally distant from her parents for as long as she could remember, and later married to her work, Rae considered herself a poor candidate for this assignment. I’m not exactly a catch, Kellen. I’m too old for you. I’m too busy.
Suddenly Maeve’s face appeared before her inner eye--their maternal, nurturing cook who’d taken her parents’ place in being there for her. When she was sick, or upset, or merely wanted to share something exciting, it was Maeve who listened, comforted, and rejoiced with her. I can draw from that. I can try to be a Maeve to Armeo. Damn it, I’ll just have to find a way to do it. He deserves nothing less, now that he’s lost his home.
As for Kellen, she was at a loss how to compensate the beautiful woman. I can make sure she wants for nothing. I have enough credits
“Don’t worry. I can help.” Kellen yawned. “Later.”
“Much later, by the looks of it,” Rae teased, desperate to keep their conversation light.
Kellen lay down and jerked at the covers. “I’m so tired all of a sudden.”
“Stop, stop, let me take your boots off.” Rae unfastened the buckles on the black combat boots. “There you go.” She tucked the covers in around her wife, not thinking how her thoughtfulness might seem to Kellen. “You take a nice nap. I’ll page Gemma and have her come over this afternoon when things settle down in the infirmary.”
“Thank you.” Kellen’s voice was dreamy but her grasp tight as she caught Rae’s left hand in hers. “I mean it. Thank you.”
An unfamiliar feeling constricted Rae’s throat. At a loss for words, she held Kellen’s hand until her delicate eyelids covered the blue brilliance of her eyes. Tucking her hand in under the covers as well, Rae straightened her aching back. As she looked down at her wife, a sudden paresis in her throat made it impossible to swallow. “You’re welcome.”
She left the bedroom and headed for the small kitchen area. Reaching up for the big jar of Cormanian coffee, she tapped the dispensing sensor twice, wanting her beverage strong. Water boiled instantly in the safer-glass jug in its niche in the wall, and she poured it over the condensed coffee.
Rae drew a trembling breath, her hands unsteady as she raised the rounded titanium Keep-Hot cylinder-mug to her face and blew the steaming beverage. The look on Armeo’s face almost did me in. Rae shuddered at how close she’d come to botching it with the boy. Still, he seems okay for now. Kellen’s done a good job raising him. Armeo seemed secure in his approach to things, not afraid to show emotions. What if I end up keeping him at the same distance my parents kept me? What if I’m just not cut out for parenthood? Five years is a long time in a child’s life. And Kellen…
The look on Kellen’s face when Rae suggested marriage might very well haunt her for a long time. Rae knew she’d given Kellen very little time--hardly any--to think things over. But what choice did she have? M’Ekar would’ve been able to demand her extradition on the spot, more or less.
Stirring her habitual coffee even though she didn’t take synth-o-sweet in it anymore, Rae wandered into the living room and stood looking out the view port. The incredible vastness of space ought to have made her feel small and insignificant, but it didn’t. Instead it filled her with a sense of adventure, a desire to explore and encounter new worlds, species, and…She shook her head. I do love the element of danger. That’s another thing that makes me unsuitable for being part of a family unit.
She was completely without experience in this matter. Emotionally distant from her parents for as long as she could remember, and later married to her work, Rae considered herself a poor candidate for this assignment. I’m not exactly a catch, Kellen. I’m too old for you. I’m too busy.
Suddenly Maeve’s face appeared before her inner eye--their maternal, nurturing cook who’d taken her parents’ place in being there for her. When she was sick, or upset, or merely wanted to share something exciting, it was Maeve who listened, comforted, and rejoiced with her. I can draw from that. I can try to be a Maeve to Armeo. Damn it, I’ll just have to find a way to do it. He deserves nothing less, now that he’s lost his home.
As for Kellen, she was at a loss how to compensate the beautiful woman. I can make sure she wants for nothing. I have enough credits
Similar Books
