by Donna Steele
Dusty felt his smile. “Yeah. They’re good.”
Leonard laughed out loud. “The difference those women make in your life . . . Damn.”
Dusty tried to glower at the man then gave up the attempt. “Let me know when you want to admit Sherry does the same for you.” He watched the color stain his boss’s cheeks but refrained from further comment. “You need something, or are you here to harass me?”
“We have a new assignment, and—”
“Not ready to go out of town,” Dusty interrupted him.
“Not suggesting it,” Leonard assured him. “We need to brainstorm some ideas about this climate problem.”
“What climate problem? I haven’t heard anything.” The term ‘global warming’ would have alerted all of his senses.
“The cooling of the planet. It’s beginning to blip on some peoples’ radar.”
Dusty gawked at him for a long moment. “The cooling of the planet.”
There was no way to explain his laughter to Leonard.
~ ~ ~
Dusty took another sip of wine as he related his day to Dee. “So he probably thinks I’m a loon because of my reaction. I couldn’t help it.”
Dee nestled into his shoulder. “No way to explain it and he already thinks you’re a loon.”
“Thanks.”
She stretched up and gave him a quick kiss. “We did good, reversing the course of global warming, even if it was inadvertent. Personally, I’m glad Earth isn’t conducive to Malvek comfort.”
Dusty chuckled, cuddling her close for a moment. He more than agreed with that sentiment. For not having a clue as to what they were doing, things had turned out pretty well.
He had a family now, with Dee and Erica, a home mostly cleared of boxes, and friends—including one from another planet. For an instant he tried to conjure up the dismal emotions that had led him to a strange bar that fateful night. Finally, he shook his head, unable to recall them now.
“What?” Dee’s voice brought him back.
Rather than answer, he scooped Erica off her blanket on the floor and took them both into his arms. The old buzz he’d grown to ignore flared for an instant, to his delight. He nuzzled Erica’s neck for a moment, before turning to Dee. He gazed into the future held in her eyes and drew her into a long, deep kiss, showing her everything she meant to him.
“Nothing,” he murmured against her lips. “All that’s important is my time with you.”
THANK YOU for reading A New Time, Book Three and the conclusion of the “Guardians of Now” trilogy! If you enjoyed the read, please consider leaving a review at Amazon.
Also from Soul Mate Publishing and Donna Steele:
ANOTHER TIME
When Dusty Williams walks into a strange bar to contemplate the ruination of his career, the last thing he expects to find is a compelling woman. He’s not even in the mood for a one-night stand. He just wants to escape from all humanity.
Dee Stevens can’t believe she’s in a bar at all. She’s just lost two patients due to drunk driving. Whatever could have drawn her into a strange bar tonight, of all times?
When the two meet, and they feel an odd vibration that seems to pull them together, they have no idea what’s ahead, or behind, them . . . and what it can mean for mankind.
Available now on Amazon: ANOTHER TIME
A DIFFERENT TIME
Back in a futuristic present following their time travel, Dusty and Dee have a lot to catch up on in their new reality. Things have improved, but people still have their issues. With their child on the way, they think everything will be smoother sailing.
Other influences have different ideas. The Guardians are watching as the offspring heralds monumental changes, and The Malveks plot to discover why a planet they had planned to invade is no longer viable.
Available on Amazon: A DIFFERENT TIME