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“It’s a tough line to walk. I won’t warn you if you screw up. You know better than to let personal interest endanger our work to protect Earth’s rightful leaders and Kalquor’s interest in this planet. Nelson’s a reporter, Selt, and she’s hungry to prove herself with a big story. Any breach will lead to you being sent elsewhere and a huge drop in rank.”
“Understood.” Selt hesitated. “I have an idea where Matara Blythe is concerned, sir. It poses some risk, but there’s potential for greater reward, if you’ll hear it.”
“Reward for us or you?”
“Both.”
Kuran eyed the time. He still had a few minutes before Stacy’s return with her family in tow. “Make it quick.”
Chapter Eleven
Stacy caught Kuran’s eye and shook her head. His clanmate Imdiko Etnil had barely stepped in Government Hall’s living area’s great room, and he was already acting outrageously.
In short, Etnil was being Etnil.
His handsome face, disarmingly gentle and hiding the mischief that was part and parcel of the psychologist, registered dumbfounded awe the instant he set eyes on Rosa Nichols. He ignored his clan leader Rihep, who was in the middle of bowing and speaking a respectful greeting to shout, “Mom! You’re here! I’ve been waitingforeverto meet you in person!”
He rushed forward to sink to his knees before Stacy’s mother. He grabbed her hands. She was already rolling her eyes but smiling, her broad face beaming. She’d spoken to Etnil on the com prior to the visit, and she’d been thoroughly warned about him by his clanmates. She understood what she was getting into.
“Oh dear. I appear to have forgotten my baseball bat to ward him off,” she sighed to Stacy.
“Your warmth and sense of humor are what makes me adore you.” Etnil tilted his head charmingly and batted his lashes at her. “Come live with us forever?”
Rosa bellowed laughter. “Get up and hug me, you ridiculous creature.”
He sprang to his feet immediately and wrapped his arms around her, pillowing his cheek on her black spiral curls. “Oh my gosh, you’re so cuddly. I’m never letting go.”
“Cuddly? You mean fat. Enough of you, rascal. Go harass Toni so I can say hello to the other two.”
“But…but…” Etnil pretended to hang on desperately as she pushed him aside. Then he caught sight of Stacy’s younger sister, who eyed him with pretended disdain. He released Rosa and bounced toward her. “Hi, little Stacy!”
“Little Stacy? Don’t try me so soon on this visit, Etnil,” Toni warned, her arms folded over her chest.
“You two look so alike. Stunning, beautiful, the same beguiling attitude of readiness to knock me across the room.” Etnil gave her a puppy dog look, which he was surprisingly adept at.
Toni cracked up and held her arms out. He picked her up and swung her in a circle until she squealed like a teenager instead of a thirty-three-year-old woman.
“Quit, fool! You’re making me dizzy!”
While they carried on, Rosa greeted the far more sedate Rihep and Kuran with smiles and less enthusiastic, though warm, hugs. “Hello, gentlemen. It’s so good to finally meet you in person.”
“We couldn’t be happier,” Rihep assured her. The Dramok’s joy, lacking Etnil’s hectic enthusiasm, was understated, quiet, and calm. His demeanor was fitting for someone who’d once seriously contemplated entering the Temple of Life’s priesthood.
Kuran was more reserved, the warrior uneasy about being embraced and fussed over by the elder of the Nicols women. Stacy was aware his mother was caring but not terribly demonstrative, so his awkwardness was no surprise.
“I’m a hugger. You’ll have to get used to it,” Rosa teased him.
He grinned. “For you, I will.”
Rosa laughed and called to Etnil. “You have competition in the charm department.”
“If he has anything remotely approaching charm, he learned it from me. I wrote the book on it.”
“I notice you’ve charmed my sister off her feet. Literally,” Stacy raised a brow at the pair. Etnil had propped Toni on his hip, as if she were child.
“Nichols Mataras are wonderfully portable, like sandwiches. You can pick them up and take them anywhere.” He beamed at her.
Meanwhile, Toni was shaking her head at Stacy. “I don’t have time or patience for this nut’s foolishness. If he doesn’t put me down in two seconds, I’ll pop his head off his shoulders. Or I’ll tell Kuran to.”
