by Susan Hayes
“You bet. And if you value your sanity, don’t forget to include a couple of honey-glazed crullers in the donut order,” Dane told her, ignoring the dirty look he got from Vance.
Ciara wrinkled her nose. “Ew. Seriously? Crullers are boring. I figured Annie for a jelly-filled-donut type.”
“Oh, she is. Cherry is her favorite. The crullers are for him.” He jerked his head toward Vance. “If you forget them, he’ll complain for hours.”
“I complained one fucking time,” Vance grumbled. “I hate those powdered ones you like. The sugar gets everywhere.”
“Powered. Cruller. Cherry jelly. Got it.”
“What about you? What’s your favorite donut?” Vance asked, and she grinned, her eyes gleaming with mischief now.
“Me? I like éclairs. You know, long, thick pastry with lots of tasty cream you can suck out the end…” She licked her lips and closed her eyes as she pantomimed what she was talking about. “Mmmm, so good.”
Dane was instantly hard as a rock at the visual she was giving them. “Fuck, yes. I’d like to put in a double order of those, please and thank you.”
“Make that a triple order,” Vance concurred.
Her eyes popped open again. “So, I get a triple order of my favorite? You guys are too easy.”
“I think we’ve been played, Doc.”
“Me, too, and I don’t even care.” Vance stood, pressing a kiss to Ciara’s forehead before scooping the bowl of batter off the table and heading back to the counter.
Ciara eyed his back for a moment, then looked at Dane. “Can I ask you two a question?”
“Anything you want to know, angel.”
“Why don’t you have matching tattoos? I know not every bonded male gets them, but I was curious why you two didn’t.”
It was Vance who finally answered. “We would have proudly worn our chosen’s mark, but she didn’t want that. She—Christine thought the whole tattoo thing was barbaric. She didn’t like her tattoos and didn’t want anyone else wearing her mark.”
“I can understand that. I hated my tattoo for a long time.” Ciara brushed her fingers over the star by her eye.
“You don’t hate it anymore?” Dane asked.
“I don’t. And when Annie gets hers, whichever one it is, I’ll teach her that it doesn’t define who she is, or what’s she’s capable of achieving.”
“Now, I’m curious. If you had bonded, would you want them to have your mark?” Vance asked.
Ciara blinked in surprise at the question. “I think if I had the chance, I’d want everyone to know who my bonded belonged to. Those bonding tattoos are sexy. Much better than a plain, boring star. Maybe one day we can all get something like
‘if you can read this, you’re too close to my property,’ on all our chests. You know, something subtle.”
All three of them burst out laughing, and the sounds of merriment continued all through breakfast. Dane couldn’t remember having a better morning, and he knew it was because Ciara was in their lives for good.
* * * *
Vance stood at the door and waved as Ciara backed out of the driveway and headed out to pick up Annie. It would be good for her to spend some time with their little girl before they broke the good news to her, but it wasn’t the reason he’d suggested she go out. He and Dane needed an hour or so alone to make plans and come up with a new claiming tattoo for their chosen.
Too bad neither of them was even the slightest bit artistically talented. To be honest, they might be better off having Annie doodle up a design.
“So, we’re not single anymore. How the hell did we get this lucky?” Dane asked as Vance closed the door.
“I have no fucking idea, but I’m thinking of making it as permanent as we possibly can before she comes to her senses.”
“Agreed. I think we should claim her.”
Vance nodded. “Me too.”
Dane looked happier than Vance had seen him in months. “Well, that’s settled. Please tell me you put our marking device away somewhere safe and you know exactly where it is right now, oh wise and organized one,” Dane said.
“Oh, sure. Now you need something in a hurry, you appreciate my need for order instead of insulting me.”
“Shut up and tell me we still have the marking device, asshole.”
“And there you go, insulting me again. Of course I have it. What we don’t have is any talent at designing a tattoo. Which is why we hired someone to make it for us last time.”
Dane ran a hand through his dark hair, leaving it standing up in disheveled spikes “Fuck it. We’re going to have to do it ourselves. We can do this.”
“At least we can get her to help us design ours.”
Dane stopped mid-stride. “Ours?”
“Can you think of any reason why we shouldn’t? Hell, do you think she’s going to let us claim her without giving her the chance to do the same? I don’t see that happening, and I’d prefer a standard bonding tattoo over a big ‘hands off’ sign scrawled across my chest.”
“She’d do it, too,” Dane said, then grinned as a warm, contented feeling washed over him. “She really is perfect for us, isn’t she?”
“She is. We’d be fools to let her go.”
“We really would. You should have seen the wreckage, Vance. The earthquake took out the whole commune. I don’t know how she survived. If she hadn’t. Fuck, she could easily have died before we ever got a chance to know her…”
Vance cut him off from that line of thinking with a wave of his hand. “But she didn’t. She survived, and she’s here, and she’s ours. Who knows, maybe Christine gave fate a little nudge.”
Dane thought about that for a minute. “Maybe. Do you think she’d understand what we’re doing? I start thinking she would, but then doubts creep in.”
Vance shook his head. “Don’t doubt it. Christine would have wanted us to be happy. She would have wanted Annie to have a mother. We didn’t have the time with her that we should have, but life goes on.”
Dane smiled. “Life is for living. That’s what she’d tell is, isn’t it?”
“Exactly.”
“Then I guess we better get to living, which means we need to start working on Ciara’s new tattoo. She and Annie will be back in an hour. We’ve got that long to figure out what the hell we’re doing. I’ll make coffee. You find the marking device. Let’s do this.”
Vance headed upstairs. He knew exactly where the device was. He’d gotten it out this morning and double checked that it was fully charged and ready to go.
Dane was right. It was time to start living again.
* * * *
Ciara stepped out of the shuttle at the first stop on her itinerary—picking up Annie from Jacqueline, Annie’s beloved babysitter. People did this every day, but it was nothing she’d ever expected to do. Somehow she’d gone from a woman alone in the badlands to a lover and a parent. Despite what her men had told her, she still had her doubts, mostly about the latter. Her only role models were her own parents. Looking back, they’d never truly loved any of their offspring. They’d had children because it was what was expected of them. Nothing more.
She was so deep in her thoughts she didn’t notice the door opening, but it was impossible to ignore Annie’s shriek of joy as she launched herself off the steps and straight at Ciara like a homing missile locked on target.
“Hi, Ciara!”
Without thinking, Ciara dropped to one knee and caught Annie up in her arms. “Hey, sweet pea. We missed you! You ready to come home?”
“Donuts!” was Annie’s instant response.
“Oh, right. Donuts, then home. Did you have a good time?”
Annie babbled happily, with Ciara only understanding every fourth or fifth word. She picked Annie up and settled her on one hip, then headed for the open door and a friendly looking woman who could only be Jacqueline. She was short, even by non-enhanced standards, and the faded star tattoo beside h
er eye was creased with laugh lines.
“You must be Ciara. Annie talked about you so much, I feel like I know you already.”
“I’m Ciara, and you must be Jacqueline. Thank you for taking care of Annie for us last night. Did she behave herself?”
The older woman laughed. “As much as any little girl can. We had a grand time, didn’t we sweetie?”
“Cookies!” Annie replied with enthusiasm.
“Yes, we made cookies. Despite her best efforts, there were even some left over. I packed them in her bag for you and her fathers.” Jacqueline held out a pink and yellow backpack. “If you’re here picking Annie up, can I take that to mean you’re going to be sticking around?”
Ciara nodded. “I am.”
Jacqueline hummed in approval, smiling from ear to ear. “I’m glad to hear it. Anything you need, you call me. I’ve been helping raise little ones like Annie here since before you were born.”
“You have? But…” Annie reached up and touched the star on her face.
“We don’t have the pretty little curlicues some women do. Being able to raise a child well has nothing to do with being able to bear children. I’ve worked as a nanny long enough to know that.”
“You did?”
“Mhmm. Retired now, more or less, but when your fellows moved into the neighborhood with this little princess, I offered to help out.” She chuckled and shook her head. “You couldn’t imagine the state they were in. It was an act of mercy, really.”
“Well, if you’re still feeling merciful, I would gladly take any advice you’ve got. This is all new to me.”
“Given the way Annie greeted you, I’d say you’re off to a good start. My first bit of advice? Trust yourself.”
“I can do that.” Ciara’s worries faded a little, at least for the time being. And when they inevitably returned, she knew there was someone she could talk to.
“Good.” Jacqueline nodded briskly and passed Ciara the backpack. “Second bit of advice, don’t let those men of yours eat all the cookies. If you’re going to be keeping up with this little one, you’re going to need the energy.”
“Now that I know I can do. Thank you.”
“Donuts now?” Annie asked, tugging on a lock of Ciara’s hair to make sure her query was acknowledged.
“Yes, sweet pea, now we’re off to get donuts. Then we’re going home. Your daddies are waiting to see you. They missed you heaps.”
“’Kay. Missed you, too,” Annie lisped and pressed a sticky kiss to her cheek before hugging her so tight Ciara could barely breathe.
It was the best feeling in the world.
Their next stop was the bakery on the outskirts of town. The last time she’d been out this way, it had been nothing but empty land, but the town around Fort Saken was growing fast. Where once there’d been nothing but weeds and rocks, new businesses had appeared, along with several lots of land that were still undeveloped but ready for construction to begin. People were moving here, some of them from the Alliance lands, others from the badlands, all of them mixing together and building something new. It was a nice idea, and one she knew Alayna was passionate about pursuing.
She parked the shuttle and helped Annie out of her seat, treated to a non-stop conversation about jelly donuts, cookies, and something she couldn’t quite make out concerning unicorns and ice cream. The bakery was across the street from where she’d parked, but she could already smell the enticing scent of fresh baked goodies and a hint of chocolate in the air. One whiff had her mouth watering. There was something especially delicious about fresh baked pastries. The smell, the texture, the way the warm dough tasted. Her stomach rumbled despite having eating breakfast not long ago.
Living in civilization again was going to be hell on her figure.
The bakery was situated at the bottom of a hill. Parts of the road were under construction, making the road area narrow and forcing what traffic there was to move slowly. There was some sort of storm sewer system being installed. At least, that’s what it looked like to Ciara. Alayna had mentioned that the area was susceptible to flash flooding, so the construction made sense. No good expanding the town if everything built was at risk of being washed away.
She and Annie waited at the intersection for the lights to change, Annie’s fingers tucked into Ciara’s. A gust of wind blew up the street, replacing the scent of fresh bread and confections with the familiar tang of badlands dust. The wind was strong enough to make her hair fly around her face like streamers, and cold enough to make Ciara hunch her shoulders against the chill. She made a mental note to add a hat, gloves, and a scarf to the list of clothing she still needed to buy. What little savings she had wouldn’t take care of everything she needed, so getting a job was going to have to be the next thing on her to-do list.
The light changed and Annie tugged at Ciara’s hand, eager to get to the bakery. “Come. Ciara. Come!”
“Okay, okay, I’m coming. Jelly donuts ahoy.”
They were halfway across the road when she heard it, the throaty roar of a heavy-duty transpo. Her head snapped up, and she looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. What she saw made her stomach twist and sent a jolt of adrenaline coursing through her veins. The transpo was hurtling down the hill, coming straight for them.
Shit.
She did the calculations in a split second. There wasn’t enough time to get clear, and the road here was too narrow for the big vehicle to be able to steer around them. The driver should have been braking, but there was no sign of that. She glanced up and saw a terrified face behind the windshield. The driver was screaming and gesturing, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Not that it mattered. It was obvious he couldn’t stop in time.
With no time left, she did the only thing she could. She took two steps to get ahead of Annie and then used all her strength to lift the little girl and hurl her clear of the path of the transpo. The transfer of momentum meant there was little chance for Ciara to get clear herself, but at least Annie would be okay.
Perception shifted. Each moment captured in slow motion. She saw the grill of the vehicle closing in on her and heard someone’s horrified shout of warning. The scent of baked cinnamon and sugar tickled at her nose. The grill of the transpo filled her vision, and she knew she was out of time. The last thing that passed through her mind as she fell to the ground was a terrible sense of regret and grief.
I wish I’d had more time to love them.
***
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dane had a nagging sense that something wasn’t right. It was nothing he could put his finger on, but the feeling rasped against his subconscious like sandpaper. They’d finished working on the new design for a claiming tattoo a few minutes ago, and now they were waiting for Ciara to get home with Annie.
She was late.
He activated his wrist unit to message Ciara, but before he could dial her number, he heard Vance’s wrist unit go off. His hope it was Ciara calling in vanished the moment he heard Vance’s greeting.
“Sterling here. When? Condition? ETA? I’ll be there shortly.”
“They’re calling you on your day off? Must be serious,” Dane said as Vance jogged by him, heading for the front door.
“Some kind of accident. They’re bringing the victims in now. All three of them are civilians, and it’s protocol to let me know whenever a civilian receives on-base treatment. I’ll need to go in and do the paperwork. No one is seriously hurt at least.”
“The joy of being the boss—” Dane’s wrist unit went off. It was Ciara. “Hey, angel. I was just thinking about you.”
“Dane? There was an accident. We’re okay. I promise we’re okay, but we’re being taken to the medical center.”
“What the hell happened?” Dane demanded, his heart in his throat. Memories of another accident filled his head. Christine’s death. The phone calls. The questions. All started with a call and the words, “There’s been an accident.�
�
“We were crossing the street. A transpo’s brakes failed. He couldn’t stop. There wasn’t time to get both of us out of the way. I made sure Annie was okay. I swear. She’s fine. She’s right beside me, complaining because we didn’t get any donuts.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can. Promise me you’re okay. Swear it.”
“I swear, we’re fine. A little bruised and shaken, but that’s it.”
“I love you. For fuck’s sake, try to stay out of danger until we get there, you hear me?”
“I love you, too. Just, come get us. We want to go home.”
Dane didn’t bother ending the call. He just turned for the door and ran. “Vance! Med-center. Right now. Those accident victims of yours? They’re Ciara and Annie.”
“What? How?” Vance demanded.
“I’ll tell you what I know when we’re in the shuttle. Move it, Doc. Our girls need us.”
They sprinted to the vehicle together.
Vance felt like he was in freefall. There was a rushing in his ears and everything was coming at him so fast he could barely keep up. “What the fuck happened? She was going for donuts!”
“She gave me her word they were okay. She wouldn’t lie to us about that. And your call said no one was seriously hurt, right?”
“They did. Minor injuries for two of the three, a broken arm and head lacerations for the driver. What driver? Was Ciara driving?” Vance hated the feeling of being out of control. He needed answers. He needed to hold his baby girl and Ciara and see for himself they were safe.
“Ciara didn’t give a lot of details. A transpo nearly hit them. Brake failure she said. She wanted me to know she got Annie clear. I don’t know what that means, exactly, but they’re both okay.” Dane took the next corner so fast Vance had to hang onto the door handle to steady himself.
“If you don’t slow down a little, we’re going to be in a wreck ourselves.”
“Any other time, I’d agree with you, but damn it, I need to see them for myself.”