Space Age- Houston, Prepare for Launch

by Sara L. Hudson

  “I need another. Can I get you guys one?” Jules asks.

  “No, thank you,” Michael says.

  “None for me right now.” But I’m distracted, still looking at Ryan.

  “I think I’ll get you one anyway, Doc. You might need it.” Jules wanders back up the stairs.

  Ryan

  “She’s such a sweetie!”

  I nod absently at Ana while she gushes over Penelope, staring at Becca a few yards away.

  “We were going to get a bigger dog, but I don’t know. There is just something about her.”

  “Uh huh.” Becca and Mark had a conversation, but who is the guy standing with her now?

  “And this is also the dog Rich posed with for the calendar. It almost seems like it’s meant to be.”

  “Meant to be.” The guy looks to be around forty. Intellectual type. He’s even wearing a tweed jacket. And what is with those close-cropped beards? I bet he’s hiding a weak chin.

  “Almost as meant to be as you and Rebecca.”

  “Yes, I— wait, what?”

  “Oh. That got your attention, huh?” She takes Penelope out of my arms. “Aren’t you a sweet girl? Yes, you are.”

  “Ana. What did you say about Rebecca?”

  She rolls her eyes at the dog. “Men are such idiots. I think I need you in my life. I’m outnumbered by idiot boys.” Penelope licks her face, making Ana coo. “What do you say, Penelope? Want to come home with me?”

  Giving up on getting any answers, I wave over one of the volunteers with the adoption paperwork Ana needs to fill out.

  “Rich, come over here,” Ana calls down the line. Rich’s eyes snap to his wife. “I need you to write so I don’t have to put Penelope down.”

  Frowning, Rich makes his way over. “I thought we were getting a big dog?” He takes a closer look. “Oh geez, babe. Is this the dog I took a picture with? You know she peed on me. They had to wipe me down and re-oil and glitter me.”

  I don’t hear the rest, too focused on how much space is between Becca and this old nerd she’s talking to.

  Is this how she felt when she saw me talking to Chloe? Or Amanda? I blew off her concerns because I would never, but I have to say, with the shoe on the other foot, I’m feeling kinda sick with jealousy. Maybe this guy would be better for her?

  Second-guessing myself sucks.

  “Ryan Cassidy?”

  My head tilts down to a petite woman holding a notebook. “Yes?”

  “I’m Claudia Serna.”

  I just blink at her.

  “The reporter from the Houston Chronicle?”

  Finally, my brain starts firing on all cylinders. “Oh, yes.” I shake her hand. “Really glad that you could come.”

  “When your sister called and said there’d be puppies and hot guys, it seemed like a great way to spend my Saturday afternoon.”

  I smile when she laughs, my eyes flicking over her head to where Becca still stands with that guy.

  Claudia follows my gaze. “That’s Dr. Rebecca Sato, right? The flight surgeon?”

  “Yes.”

  “I want to talk to her too, but I hadn’t wanted to interrupt her date.”

  “Date?”

  When the reporter’s eyebrows jump, I realize I may have said that bit menacingly.

  I backtrack. “Uh, I mean, it’ll be fine. I’ll introduce you.”

  “If you think it’s okay.” She waves me ahead. “Lead the way.”

  My long legs eat up the distance in no time.

  “Hello, Becca.”

  Startled from her conversation, Becca jumps, blinking up at me. “Ryan. Hi.”

  There’s a beat of silence in which the man next to Becca leans down and whispers in her ear, his hand lingering on her bare arm for a second. They smile at each other and he nods in my direction before walking away.

  “Is that your date?”

  Her brow pinches. “What?”

  “Is that your—”

  “Whoa, you walk fast.” Claudia’s hand slaps my shoulder before she turns to Becca. “You’re Dr. Sato, correct?”

  Frown still in place, Becca tilts her head toward the reporter. “Yes.”

  “Hi, I’m Claudia Serna, with the Houston Chronicle.”

  Becca’s sudden smile is dazzling. “Oh, hi.” She sticks her hand out. “Thanks so much for coming. I really appreciate it. As do the shelter animals.”

  They begin talking about the shelter, what they are hoping to raise funds for and how the calendar idea came about. But I’m too busy drinking in Becca up-close to notice.

  Her hair is down, and the bright lights of the museum make it shine like an oil slick. I haven’t seen her in a dress before. Her shapely legs are bare, her height given an added boost with the black stilettos she’s wearing.

  I think her dress is one of those business suit dresses you wear under a blazer. It’s cream and fitted and modest at the neck, but it shows off her shape to perfection. It’s sleeveless, giving me a glimpse of another illusive freckle on her left biceps.

  “Ryan?”

  I blink back into the moment to find both women looking at me.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  Claudia glances between Becca and me, a slow smile spreading across her face. “I was asking what made you so interested in the shelter’s cause?” Her eyes flick to Rebecca. “But I may have some idea.”

  If I could blush, I would. Thankfully, I never have. “I love animals. I have an older dog, River. Golden retriever.” I’m aware I sound like a robot, but I can’t stop myself. “I’ve been thinking he needs a pal. Keep him on his toes. Keep him young.”

  I take a deep breath and point back to the portable kennels. “See that Dalmation-pit bull mix?” Both women crane their necks to the left. “I adopted her today.” Becca’s eyes fly to mine. “Her name’s Doc.”

  Her lips part.

  “That’s great.” Claudia writes something in her notepad. “I’ll make sure to get a picture of you with her later.”

  “And don’t forget Rich.” I point to where Rich and Ana are fighting over who gets to hold Penelope next. “He just adopted that little wire-haired dog.” I gesture to all the men, some who are hamming it up with the shelter dogs, drawing more people over. “The whole station really took this to heart.”

  “But Ryan is the one who really made everything happen.”

  I turn, surprised at Becca’s compliment.

  “He did, did he?” Claudia makes another note.

  Becca nods, her dark hair falling forward. “Yes, if it wasn’t for Ryan, none of this would’ve been possible.”

  We both stare at each other, seconds ticking by.

  “Mommy! Puppies!” A little girl’s squeal breaks the moment, both of us coming back to our surroundings. And to the fact that Claudia has slipped away, leaving us to ourselves.

  “Becca, I—”

  “He’s not my date,” she blurts out, eyes wide.

  It takes a minute for me to pinpoint what she means. “He isn’t?”

  “No.” She points to the gift shop. “He’s Mark’s husband, Michael.”

  So he is. I watch as Mark leans over and kisses the bearded nerd as another person buys a calendar. “Ah.”

  “And thank you. So much.” She takes a deep breath, looking around. “For all of this.”

  “Of course, Becca. Anything for you.”

  “Can we… can we talk?”

  I lean forward conspiratorially. “Um, aren’t we doing that right now?”

  She laughs, pushing my shoulder. Even that small, playful contact lights me up.

  “No. I mean, somewhere less… public?”

  I look around, realizing she means more than just museum patrons. My station crew is openly gawking, and Millie is holding her hands to her chest with a hopeful expression on her face. Claudia snaps a picture of us. “Oh, yeah. That’s probably a good idea.”

  “Let’s head outside.”

  I follow her toward the front of the museum. So
meone coming in opens the door and a cool breeze filters in, spreading goosebumps on her arms.

  I stop her with my hand. “Wait one second, okay?”

  She gives me a funny look, but I don’t explain. Instead I jog over to the gift shop and grab a sweatshirt. It takes me a minute to buy and then another to recover from the price. Gift shop mark-up. But whatever.

  “Here.” I thrust the bag at her.

  With an amused grin she takes it and looks inside. “You bought me a sweatshirt.”

  “I didn’t want you to be cold.”

  She bites her lip and pulls out the baby pink sweatshirt with the large NASA logo on the front. “I love it. Thank you.”

  Static electricity makes her hair dance around her head when she pulls the sweatshirt on. Laughing, she pats the wayward strands down. “How do I look?” she jokes.

  “Beautiful.”

  The amusement fades from her eyes, but not the softness. I’ve missed her looking at me like that.

  “Come on, Lieutenant.” She grabs my hands and pulls. “Let’s go have that talk.”

  Rebecca

  Families stand around outside, some drinking hot cocoa.

  “Oh. I forgot about the Galaxy of Lights.” All the outside benches are taken. “Maybe we could walk—”

  “Listen. I’m sorry I rushed you. And I’m sorry I didn’t take your concerns about our age difference more seriously.”

  One glance at his eyes, which look a bit frantic, and I give up on finding a more private place. “It’s okay, I—”

  “No, it’s not.” He runs a hand through his hair. He’s done that quite a bit tonight, his blond hair on end. “So I have a plan. I know you like to plan things out.”

  He’s so cute right now. “Yes, I do.”

  “So here’s the plan. We slow down. No more boyfriend-girlfriend status if that makes you uncomfortable.”

  I open my mouth, but he keeps talking.

  “Instead, I’ll take you on more traditional dates. Just you and me. No fire station picnics or nephews. We get to know each other even better than we already do.”

  I speak slowly, making sure I have this right. “You don’t want to be my boyfriend?”

  “Not if it’s going to make you uncomfortable. I can’t do anything about my age, but if you need more time so that you’re sure that I’m sure, then maybe that will help.” He grips my shoulders in his hands. “Because I’m sure, Becca. You’re it for me. I know it’s fast, I know you’re scared, but I’m all in. And that isn’t going to change. So if I need to take more time to prove that to you, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  I didn’t realize how fast I was breathing until he stopped talking. Or how fast my heart is beating.

  “Ryan, I’m sorry.”

  His handsome face falls, and I’m quick to hurry on. “No, no. I mean I’m sorry for the other night. At Rocket Park. I’m sorry for freaking out.”

  He huffs out a relieved breath, dropping his arms. “Well, I did lie.”

  “Yeah.” I play punch him in the arm. “Don’t do that again.”

  He takes my hand in his before I can pull it away. “Promise.”

  “And as for your plan, it sounds good. But may I propose a few changes to it?”

  He kisses my hand, holding it against his chest. His heart is beating as fast as mine. “Anything.”

  “Instead of slowing down, how about I move in?”

  His mouth falls open.

  “And instead of traditional dates, let’s throw another picnic with the fire crew. Invite some of my friends as well.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “Does that include the crazy astronaut?”

  I nod. “Jules wouldn’t miss it.”

  He pulls me closer, dipping his head toward mine. “I think that can be arranged.”

  “One more thing,” I say before he can kiss me.

  “What’s that?”

  “Doc? Your new dog?”

  He tilts his head, frowning. “Yeah?”

  “I need to be listed on the adoption papers.”

  “Hmmm.” His nose brushes against mine. “That’s easy.” His lips move to trace the shell of my ear. Goosebumps that have nothing to do with the cold spread over my skin. “I already put you down as her new momma.”

  “You did?” My voice is breathless.

  He pulls back, his blue eyes sincere and full of love. “Of course, Doc. I told you, I’m all in.”

  His lips finally meet mine, and for a minute I think actual fireworks are exploding.

  My eyes flutter open. Multi-colored lights wash over Ryan’s features as the Holiday Light show begins. Planets made of twinkle lights glow and move, and kids run down the lawn setting off the interactive lights.

  A cheer goes up, Ryan and I both turning toward the sound.

  Crowded around the museum entrance are all the crew from the station, the shelter volunteers, and even some of my colleagues at NASA. All holding shelter animals.

  In that moment, with my arms around a hot young firefighter under the glow of technicolored lights, I realize I already have what I’ve always wanted.

  A family.

  Epilogue: Lift Off

  Ryan

  “What have I told you about pooping on people?”

  Becca snickers before rubbing her hand on my nephew’s back. “Aw, you poor thing. Is your tummy bothering you?”

  “He’s the poor guy? I’m the one with poop on me.” I gesture to the brown smear on my white shirt. “And why do you always wait until someone is wearing white? Uncool, little man.”

  Becca rolls her eyes, but I can tell she’s biting her lip to keep from laughing. At least I didn’t laugh at her when she was the recipient of one of Adam’s epic blowouts.

  “Here, give me the little love.” She plucks Adam out of my arms and walks him into the laundry room. I notice she’s holding him at arm’s length.

  Peels of laughter sound from outside, followed by short, happy barks. All our friends and their families are out back, the kids chasing River, Doc and Penelope around the yard.

  Cammie slides the back door open. “Everything okay?”

  I point to my shirt and she just laughs.

  “What is it with the women in my life? No sympathy.”

  “Please. Aren’t you always telling everyone that you’re a grown ass man?” She looks around the kitchen. “Now where’s my son?”

  “Here he is!” Becca comes out from the laundry room, Adam cuddled to her chest.

  I need to find myself a new wingman.

  “All clean.”

  “Thank you, Becca. Appreciate it.” Cammie reaches for her son, but I see Becca’s slight hesitation before handing Adam to his mother. My girl needs a baby. Which is only further confirmed when her eyes lock on to Adam’s little body snuggling into Cammie’s neck with blatant envy.

  Cammie wags a finger at us. “You two don’t stay in here all day. This is your cohabitating party. And by the way, it’s weird to throw a cohabitating party on Christmas Eve.” She pauses at the screen door. “In fact, isn’t it weird to host a cohabitating party at all?”

  I shrug. “What’s weirder is how many times you’ve said the word cohabitating.”

  Cammie flicks me off, her usual go-to sister move, and takes Adam back outside.

  “Aren’t you going to change?”

  Before I can answer Becca, the sliding door opens again. This time Jules sticks her curly hair inside. “Did Jackie show up yet?”

  “No.” Becca shakes her head. “I hate to break it to you, Jules, but I don’t think she’s coming. She’s kind of a hermit.”

  Jules straightens and stomps her shit-kicker-clad foot on the cement porch. “That’s it. I’m going to have to resort to drastic measures now.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want—”

  Jules waves me off. “Bullshit. You’re all loved up, you saying Jackie wouldn’t want that?”

  “Well, no. But—”

  “Exactly. The girl n
eeds a good dick.”

  I choke on air.

  Jules looks at me with concern. “You okay?”

  Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Yep.”

  “All right then.” She starts to slide the door closed, only to stop and look back at me. “You have shit on your shirt. Just so you know.” Then she shuts the door and saunters off, probably on her way to make someone socially uncomfortable.

  Amused by her nutty friend, Becca smiles and thumbs over her shoulder. “Want me to grab you a shirt off the dryer?”

  I fake lunge like I’m going to hug her, making her squeal and jump out of the way.

  “Don’t you dare!”

  Chuckling, I carefully remove my T-shirt. I’m about to take it to the laundry sink to wash out but I catch sight of Becca staring at my chest. Salivating might be a better word.

  Her eyes flare further when I flex my chest muscles.

  Forget the laundry room. I chuck the shirt in the trash and take a step toward her.

  Priorities, people.

  Becca licks her lips and moves back. “They’re probably all waiting for us.”

  I take another step forward. “Probably.”

  Her butt hits the counter. “It would be rude to abandon our guests.”

  “They’ll forgive us.” I lean down, inhaling the long column of her neck, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. “Especially when they find out I’m giving you your Christmas present.”

  She snort-laughs. “You’re giving me your dick as my present?”

  I rest my forehead on her shoulder and laugh with her. “No, Jesus. You’ve been hanging out with Jules too long.” I kiss her neck. “Besides, you already own my dick, so that isn’t much of a present.”

  “Isn’t much?” Becca palms my erection over my jeans. “I beg to differ.” She rubs up and down the hard ridge, making me moan. “And as a medical doctor, I know what I’m talking about.”

  “Good to know,” I manage before I kiss her long and hard.

  “Wait, wait.” Becca pulls back, breathing hard. “What’s my present?”

  I kiss her softly one more time. “A baby.”

  She freezes. “What?”

  “You heard me.”