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KHALL
Khall paced the living room after calming himself by reading to Bo and putting her to bed.
He shouldn’t have talked to April that way. She cared about his daughter.
And the fact that his own temper had been soothed by taking care of Bo’s needs only served to prove her point.
She had been here such a short time, and she already understood them both so thoroughly that it was almost frightening.
Still, he wasn’t going to be getting an animal.
But the girl was perceptive, and she had taken time off the clock to serve and clean up after a nice dinner, and then she had put herself out there to ask for something she thought would help Bo.
And he had rewarded her by bellowing at her.
Smooth, Rivvor, very smooth.
He needed to make things right. But it had taken him twenty minutes to come up with an appropriate gesture. And he still wasn’t sure how she would take it.
The more time passes, the madder she’ll be.
He couldn’t risk her leaving. He had to act now. By morning she might have submitted for another job.
Steeling himself to be shrieked at, he took a deep breath and marched down the hall to tap on her door.
The wait was interminable, but at last he heard light footsteps and the door opened.
“Yes, Captain Rivvor,” she said in a flat, neutral tone.
Sun gods, but she was good at keeping her own temper.
“I wanted to apologize for snapping at you,” he said. “This is an old argument, but you had no way of knowing that.”
She tilted her head, listening, leaving him no choice but to continue.
“My wife, Xteniya, she always wanted pets too,” he said, unable to hide his smile thinking about her. “She was always stopping to pet every dog we ever saw and watching those funny animal holo-programs. We knew there wasn’t space for us to have pets here in the city, but we always talked about getting a country house once our careers were in a place that we could back off a little. It was all part of the dream we had - pets, open space, room for our extended families to visit and get to know the kids better.”
April nodded and he swore there were tears in her eyes.
“Anyway,” he said gruffly, clearing his throat. “I left an envelope on the kitchen counter. Our city zoo passes are in there, and some cash credits for the snack bots. I never seem to have time to take Bo lately, even though it’s right in the park across the street, and she really likes visiting the animals there. If you want to take her, tomorrow or anytime, I know she would love it.”
“Thank you,” April said softly.
Her eyes were radiant, as if he had just made her very happy.
“I’m sorry again for raising my voice,” he told her. “I can see how much you care about Bo. That means everything to me.”
“It would be impossible not to care for her,” April said. “She’s amazing, and so is Minerva. You’re a very lucky man.”
He was, and he knew it.
But something about being this close to April, inhaling the sweet fragrance of her hair, made him feel like he was still missing something. Something small and soft and fiercely loyal that he longed to hold tight to his chest.
He gazed into her eyes and was surprised to see her pale cheeks deepen into pink.
Did Terrans color-shift? He had never heard of such a thing.
“Good night, Captain Rivvor,” she said, looking down at her feet.
“Good night, April,” he replied.
But he waited until she shut the door before he continued down the hall to his own room.
