AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, it’s you,” she says. Her voice is neutral— not disappointed by not overjoyed. She looks over the selection on the tray and then glances up at me. “Is this for me?”
I clear my throat. “Yes. I… brought you breakfast. I thought you might still be asleep.”
“I actually like to wake up early. And so does Raffa, apparently.” She sighs. “Ruka stopped by, and I explained what happened, so she offered to show him around. They’re comm calling his sister.”
“Then could I come in and join you for this meal?” I ask hopefully.
“Yes,” she says. “There are things we should discuss anyways.”
I place the tray on the dresser top for a moment and show her how the bed can be converted to a table with chairs. She’s moderately impressed, although she says that such things existed on Earth prior to the Alliance Occupation. While I pull out the benches, she moves the tray to the table, and we sit opposite each other. It feels civilized between us for the first time, which is progress.
I watch carefully as she puts together a plate to eat, noting her preferences. She scoops the fruit preserves on top of the grain pudding and mixes it together, tasting it briefly before adding the sweetener. When she seems satisfied with her portion, I make my own bowl to eat.
“This is a kind gesture,” she says as she finishes her first bite. “Thank you.”
I shove a spoonful in my mouth to keep from saying anything to ruin the moment. It’s quiet for some taps while we eat. But when she laces her fingers together and rests her chin on them, I know she has something to say.
“We agree that Raffa can’t stay here,” she states. “And I’m meant to be his guardian right now.”
The civility didn’t last long. She won’t like my opinion on how to handle this.
“Of course. He’s too young to be in this environment. We’re pressed for space as it is. You won’t be pleased to hear that I don’t intend to send you off to your colony with him.”
“And why not?” she asks, fisting the spoon like a weapon. “You said you’d think about it.”
“Raising a young Kar’Kali will not exactly help distance you from our community. Your close friend is known to be mated to a Kar’Kali with connections to me, and then you return to EC-12 with a Kar’Kali ward…”
“I’m a teacher. It’s not wild for anyone to believe I would take in a kid who needs help,” she argues.
“I might be nitpicking, but I have no desire to take chances with your safety. Not when there are others who can see to Raffa in the meantime. Kira’s family lives on an Alliance colony too. I could see that he’s sent there, or we can bring him to Station City and ask Lakkavi and his mate to take care of him.”
“There’s a reason Rossa asked me. If you haven’t noticed, he’s active and a bit rebellious. She wanted him with me because we already have a relationship.”
“He seems personable. He’ll make friends elsewhere,” I say.
With open irritation, she eats her food while looking anywhere else but at my face. I watch her mind working on some way to convince me. She’s not planning on giving up any time soon.
“Where did you go last night?” she asks. “And before you make an excuse, I could tell you didn’t go to sleep.”
“Oh?”
“Not only did you change clothes, but you changed boots. And I noticed your hair had something in it.”
Blood, I think to myself.
“I’ll tell you everything since that’s what you requested of me, right? Complete openness?”
“Please,” she says.
“Conversations like this must stay between us,” I tell her. “Due to the nature of my occupation.”
“I’ve pieced that together.”
“I decided to clear my head with a short excursion.”
“Aren’t we traveling pretty fast right now? How is that possible?”
“My personal craft is made for such things. It’s not the most comfortable form of travel, but it’s capable of landing on the exterior of most large ships undetected.”
