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Chapter 24
Settlingintotheirhomeon the mountain had been a dream come true.
Gianna never thought she’d love owning a home, but damn was it nice to wake up in the morning and not have to worry about leaky roofs or ruffians outside of her apartment pandering for loose coins in passersby’s pockets.
In all the years she’d spent on Noxxa, she’d never thought she could feel safe and secure on the planet. She’d come to terms, over the years, that there was always going to be an underlying threat of danger no matter where she went.
But lo and behold, Kozien had surprised her yet again and challenged her view on this very planet in the same way she’d challenged his view when they’d been trying to rescue her brother.
She’d been so happy waking up in his arms and rising to watch the sun come up over the horizon, bathing the entire skyline and the sea in beautiful hues of golds and reds.
She watched Gabe’s boat trawl along the coast, their nets down and their crew scrambling around on deck while they pulled in whatever edible aquatic life was out there. She hadn’t ventured into checking out the seafood yet, but she was sure tonight that would change.
Her brother had informed her only a few short days ago that he was coming to her house for dinner and bringing afriendwith him.
He’d emphasized that word more than a few times, which led her to believe this person wasn’t just any old friend he’d met while working. By the sounds of it, she might as well put out her best porcelain.
The thought made her laugh to herself. Who knew her brother could become so squirrely when faced with the hard-hitting questions of “Do we like this person?” “Is this person a friend-friend or afriend-friend?”
“Gianna?” She turned and spied her mate standing in the entryway of their kitchen. “Everything all right?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. Just laughing to myself. Would you mind getting the nice dinner plate set out of the cabinet and setting the table? Food is almost done.”
Kozien tilted his head. “I thought we were waiting for Gabe to arrive with food?”
“He told me it doesn’t take that long to cook, apparently. So, I’m starting all of this early.”
Kozien nodded, leaning back from the entryway. “I’ll grab the plates.”
“Thank you!”
Turning back to her stove, Gianna turned the burner down and let the stock boil inside of the pot. She hoped whatever her brother was bringing her could be thrown into the stock without needing much prep time.
Gianna had never been a stellar cook, but the few recipes she did know, she had down like the back of her hand.
All right, that should be good enough for now.
“Gia!” her brother called her from the living room.
“In here!”
She listened to the sound of his footsteps coming through the living room. She looked over and smiled when he popped his head around the corner.
“Got those shellfish for you.”
“Can they be boiled?”
“Yeah, I think so. Sililia told me they taste best with some kind of broth.”
Sililia, huh…
“Oh, well I just put a pot of stock on. Does that work?”
He walked over to her, a plastic bag clutched in his hand. He looked into the pot and shrugged. “We can try it. I’ll have Sililia be the judge.”
She smiled, taking the lid off. “Perfect.”
Gabe set the bag down on the counter next to the stove, pulling out large crustacean-like creatures that were a mix between a lobster and a shrimp. He dropped all four of them into the pot of boiling stock before grabbing the lid and replacing it over the top.
