Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance)

by Marlow, J. A.

  Too many unanswered questions.

  As he reached a transit platform, his communicator beeped. He recognized the name. Oh great. Did something else happen at the pet show? Vallory calling from the Bed and Breakfast to plead for more help?

  If she did, he knew he would head straight there. Despite his worries and knowing he needed to distance himself. Despite all the reasons he should pull back. He wouldn't be able to help himself, and he couldn't figure out why, or even if it was a good thing or not.

  Which set the logical side of his mind warring with the rest of himself. With the war raging hard and fast, he opened the connection.

  "Okay, Mr. Fixit, time to pay up," Velda's irate voice said.

  "For the room? The hotel is paying all expenses for their displaced guests," Damien said.

  "No, not for that. Don't you think I would know how that works? Of course I do. How many years have I run this place?"

  Damien's eyebrows raised at the curt and outright rude sentences. His bot looked up at him and chirped a question as a maintenance transit car appeared from one of the transit tubes.

  "Is there a problem?" Damien finally said, interrupting Velda's dressing-down.

  "Of course there's a problem. A stench in the air permeating the entire block. Even Siggy can't stand it. We had to retreat to the far side of the gardens to find clean air." Damien groaned as Velda finished with, "Get your tight little buns over here and fix this now!"

  CHAPTER TEN

  ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER stink.

  Vallory wasn't as bothered by the smell as much as the others. They'd retreated to the far side of formal gardens bordering the property of the Northstar Bed and Breakfast. The group included Velda's little dog, Siggy. She'd settled in a table and chairs under the shade of a large tree. Not that she needed shade, not with the sun quickly fading.

  Her lips quirked. Sun. Not here, not like on a planet. Just a planned daytime and nighttime for each ring. She'd heard each ring was on a different time schedule, allowing the station to be active twenty-four hours of a day.

  Her mind processed through it all while another part focused on the information in front of her on the computer. Plenty of time for it, if this stink was anything like what happened at the hotels or pet show. It would eventually dissipate and they could go back, but in the meantime, all they could do was wait it out.

  The meeting that morning had gone better than the others. The woman, an expert on the Drax Outlier Worlds correlated her needs with one world with a new human colony. Plenty of land to buy up for a refuge, if she could get the grants for it. The woman thought she would easily qualify for several, and even offered to help.

  The problem was the base temperature of the planet. It orbited closer to the sun than the daubpup's original home. Even in the northern latitudes, temperatures tended to get high.

  Very big issue. The daubpups did not like heat.

  Vallory rubbed her chin as she went over the details of the planet in question and Siggy found his way over to her. He attacked her right shoe before a big horned beetle under a big fern caught his attention.

  Problem was, go far enough north and it could also get cold. Maybe have an outer habitat for the summer months, and an enclosure during winter? The daubpups didn't seem to mind living inside sometimes, but would they like it for an entire season? The sun? Good angle, enough sunlight, too much in the summer?

  Not a perfect match to their former habitat, to be certain. But, maybe she could figure out a way to make it work? The microbes in the soil were similar. Similar plants, imported by humans and said to thrive in many areas.

  But they may not thrive in the northern latitudes cool enough for at least the summer. So close, yet so far.

  Still, a better prospect than anything else so far.

  Siggy jumped to the side, then to the other, as if expecting the beetle to attack him. The beetle's horned head bobbed up and down. It then turned and disappeared deeper into the ferns. The dog whine, as if disappointed.

  "I thought you didn't like it," Vallory said to him. The dog sniffed, his nose high in the air, his long purple bangs hanging dashingly over one eye, telling her he didn't think she knew what she was talking about. And then he broke the image of haughtiness by tripping over his own legs and falling over as he turned away.

  "He will figure out the problem. Don't worry," she heard Velda tell one of the other guests. "He's the best on the station."

  She smiled involuntarily. Her Damien. Called in by Velda to find the source of the stench that suddenly infested the Bed and Breakfast.

  Yes, he would find the problem, if a problem could be found. If he couldn't, would he help her find a place to sleep again? The hotel hadn't opened yet again, despite the smell no longer there. Tomorrow, though, it should. Just one more night to get through. Maybe this time he would invite her to a different place to sleep?

  Stupid Vallory. Not a good thing to think about, as it led her mind into all sorts of places it shouldn't go. It only reaffirmed her decision to find a different type of position once she found the daubpups a home. She needed more human companionship, to be around others. Maybe that would help.

  Or stay with the daubpups if she could find a place for them near other humans? Where they both could have what they need?

  One sneaky part of her brain whispered to her that she didn't want just any companionship, she wanted someone in particular. Maybe not her brain. The voice came from deeper than that.

  Vallory muffled an exasperated sound, mad at herself. She was driving herself crazy thinking like this. Why couldn't she focus on only the daubpups while here? Why did someone have to come along and distract her?

  "I found the problem."

  The deep voice thrilled her. Not what he said; just the sound of it. So rich. It thrummed down into her very core.

  She looked up from the computer to find him there in front of Velda, his adorable little bot hovering behind him with a cart.

  The eyestalks of the bot bobbed. Letting go of the cart handle, it moved around the feet of those standing with Velda and Damien to make its way to her. It gave a pleased and smug chirp as it settled at her feet.

  She automatically reached down to it. "You sound just like Penny after she's gotten into trouble."

  "Thank you. See, everyone? Didn't I tell you he was the best here?" Velda said. The small crowd around her murmured their approval. "So, we can head back now?"

  "You can, although you have one less piece of your landscaping," Damien said. From her short distance away, Vallory could see the humor in his face, echoed by his voice.

  "Oh? Then you found out what is wrong with this stink around the station?" one of the guests asked.

  "No, unfortunately. The smell around the Bed and Breakfast is not connected." Damien smiled down at Velda. "Next time Daisy picks up a plant from a rummage sale, make sure she knows exactly what it is. She picked up a Wellington Rose."

  "A what?" someone demanded even as Vallory started giggling. She couldn't help it. It wasn't the first time she'd heard of such a mistake.

  "Oh no," Velda moaned.

  "Yep, that's right," Damien said, his voice becoming even more amused. "The infamous stink rose, and it just started blooming. I took the initiative of having it moved to the station botanical gardens. The air around the house is now breathable."

  Velda clapped her hands. "Then it's time to settle in for the night. Everyone, time to head back!"

  Vallory closed her research computer and slipped it into the protective pocket in her purse. Velda went on to thank Damien for his hard work and intelligence in finding the problem. So many people didn't have any doubts with him at all. Velda, the show officials, the hotel. And he didn't let them down.

  Okay, there was still the problem of the stink she'd heard was appearing and disappearing all over the station, but that sounded like a core station problem. It may have nothing at all to do with life-support at all, and that was Damien's section.

  It didn't help
that she loved the sound of his voice. Just to listen to it. Having him read a book aloud would be a sheer pleasure.

  Vallory bent down to stroke the bot's top shell to murmur, "Listen to me. Just want to listen or walk, and then I go wanting to be taken somewhere else."

  The bot gave her a whistle and a series of chirps she found oddly comforting. As if it was trying to encourage her and comfort at the same time.

  "Taken somewhere? What a marvelous idea!"

  Vallory jerked, finding Velda standing over her. Only, she wasn't looking at her, but had turned towards the people still at the edge of the garden. "Damien, get yourself over here."

  Vallory tensed, her hand stilling on the bot's top. "Oh, I was just talking to the bot, I mean, to myself."

  But, Velda paid no attention. She gestured at Damien to hurry up, the movement setting the thin golden bracelets to jingling against each other. "Besides, you deserve a break after coming out so late. Don't think I don't know this is after-shift for you."

  "What is it? Another problem?" Damien asked as he came over, his smile tired, and perhaps a little wary?

  "Oh no. Of course not. Anything else my grandson can take care of." She took one of his hands in her own manicured one, turning to smile down at Vallory. A nice smile, but nothing like the glint of mischief in her eyes. Instantly, Vallory was on guard. "Vallory was just saying something about wanting to be taken somewhere. I think that is a lovely idea."

  "Oh, really, I was just talking…"

  "She just arrived at the B&B when the uproar happened. I doubt she's eaten a bite all day." Velda nodded knowingly at Damien. "You know how the pet show is. Especially the exhibitors."

  The edge of his mouth quirked, as if he was suppressing a bigger smile or laugh. "Oh yes. All business."

  "Exactly! Vallory needs to eat, and so do you."

  Vallory glared at Velda. Didn't she know how obvious she was with this? Damien's worry about Velda when he brought her to the place now echoed through her mind. Oh yes, Velda was out for a little match-making.

  "Somewhere else?" his deep voice said from directly over her. Straightening, she found him smiling down at her. "I hope you mean my taking you to dinner. I'm starving."

  Wait. He fell for it?

  ***

  Velda set him up. He knew it. It was plain and obvious.

  So, why did he go along with it?

  And now, he was going out to dinner with the one person tormenting him so badly by her very presence on the station? Spend the evening with her, just the two of them?

  The two parts of him started warring again, even as Damien held out a hand to help her up from her chair. He knew the logical part of his brain lost the argument when she flashed him a brilliant smile and said, "I would love to. Know of a good place?"

  He smiled right back, lost in her eyes. "Absolutely."

  "Wonderful. You two have fun." Velda grabbed Siggy and stuffed him in his igloo, and disappeared. Why should she stick around? Her work here was done.

  His bot turned and grabbed the cart and sped off with it as Damien led Vallory in a different direction. Taking the cart back to the maintenance platform, he was sure. He was also equally sure that it would show up later in the meal. Just so it could get a little attention itself.

  His bot loved her. She appeared to enjoy his company. In his dreams now.

  Lord, he was in trouble.

  He held her hand the same way he had the night before. His arm crooked, her's bent under his and curling over the inside so that her soft hand lay on his forearm. He reached over to lay his other hand over hers, capturing it there.

  Held it, enjoying the sound of her voice as she told him of her day at the pet show. No more missing pets, with more security personnel walking through the grounds and buildings. Even grumpy Mr. Pyman relaxed by the end of the day.

  "Good. I didn't want to hear about more accusations," Damien said as they neared the restaurant area he had in mind. "I was ready to go to the show officials."

  "I already talked to them about it," Vallory said, wrinkling her nose. "Just to make sure they heard my side of things in case Mr. Pyman spoke to them. He did threaten to do that. I think he would, too."

  "I'm sure he would."

  She smiled up at him, her hand squeezing his forearm. "And, how was your day."

  They arrived in front of a small business front, decorated with gold and brown symmetrical shapes around the door and windows. Across the top of the storefront, illuminated letters spelled out "Sophie's Place" in cursive writing. "Hold that thought."

  The inside of the restaurant buzzed with conversation. As usual, most of the tables were taken. In another hour, locals would fill every single one, and there would be a small line at the entrance waiting for a table. Already, the scent of homemade sauces and bread filled the air, spilling out onto the wide walkway running along the business center. Such a pleasant contrast to the smells and stinks permeating the station lately.

  A young woman in a simple black dress with her hair pinned up smiled at them from the hostess desk. "Damien! We haven't seen you in a while."

  "Good evening, Zarita. I've been busy with the station. Have an open booth for two in a quiet corner?"

  Zarita's eyes widened as she took in Vallory and the way he held her hand. Let her look. It wasn't as if he hadn't brought a date here before, even if it had been a while. She picked up two menus and motioned for them. "Follow me. I have the perfect corner."

  Damien nodded his approval as Zarita stopped at a back corner. Far enough from the kitchen door, divisions between the other booths, intimate lighting from candles on the table with muted light coming from the wall sconces. "Perfect."

  Zarita gave him a smile, setting the menus on the table on each side. "Thank you. Can I get you a drink?"

  A moment later, Zarita hurried off with their orders. Damien sat back on his cushioned bench seat to watch Vallory as she perused the menu. The flashes of the moving pictures in the menu illuminated her face and hair with different colors.

  Lovely. He even loved how she concentrated, with a small worry line appearing between her eyebrows. When Zarita returned with the drinks she looked up and stared at him. Shocked he'd been watching her? She shouldn't be. She was infinitely watchable.

  Damien didn't bother even glancing at the menu, knowing exactly what he wanted. Most regulars did when they came here. Besides, it gave him more time to focus on what he really wanted, and that was the woman sitting across from him. A flare of annoyance that she wasn't sitting next to him hit him as she finished giving her order.

  Zarita disappeared again, and Damien leaned against the table.

  She swallowed hard, appearing unable to look away. "Um. How was your day?"

  He smiled. Time to back down, then. He could do that. For now. "Busy day, but it wouldn't have gone into overtime except for Velda calling."

  She was easy to talk to. Once they both relaxed again, he found himself going through the day, including the visit by the Naughty Knitter's Club in the morning.

  "I still think it's a silly name," Vallory said as the food started arriving via a serving bot. "They aren't naughty, just mischievous."

  "Trust me, they get into more trouble than can be described as 'mischievous,'" Damien said. "That little group is infamous on this station."

  "How much trouble can three ladies get into?" Vallory insisted.

  He had to disabuse her of that notion. Innocent older ladies? He wanted to laugh at the notion.

  By halfway through her meal he had her giggling at what they'd done to Rachel and Ignacio. The rummage sale finds. The infamous playground fundraiser.

  "Okay, okay, I give," Vallory finally said, her fork hovering over her plate. "Stop so I can eat."

  And eat she did. A healthy appetite on her. The plate would usually go back to the kitchen half-eaten with his past dates. Not with Vallory. She polished it all off without any hesitation. As if not a bit concerned he was judging her by how much she ate with how th
in she might be. He tired of that.

  It also left him comfortable to eat his full plate. The food of Sophie's Place was not to be dismissed. Simple food, but with spices to set it off. His roasted chicken breast came with a large purple Vorstogen baked potato with all the fixings and a side salad. He enjoyed every bite.

  As the serving bot cleared the table, Vallory sat back in her bench, giving a sigh of contentment. "That was delicious."

  "There's a reason the locals love this place."

  Vallory smiled at him, illuminating the booth in a way candles and soft lights could not. "A perfect end to the day."

  "And perhaps a return tomorrow to celebrate a trophy?" Damien asked before taking a sip of water.

  She tensed and averted her eyes. Oh, no, not this again. Because he was asking her to join him for another dinner or because the mention of the judging happening at the Pet Show? He had a feeling it was the latter. At least, he hoped it was. They had only a short time together now, and he'd decided to take advantage of it no matter the consequences to himself after.

  "Well, we'll see what the judges say tomorrow." She shrugged her shoulders. "What will be will be."

  Damien leaned on the table on his forearms. "The daubpups are adorable, and unlike anything else at the show. A new pet that no one has ever seen on the market, too. Why wouldn't they win?"

  Another shrug, and she still wasn't meeting his eyes. "Well, I missed the judges coming by the enclosure this morning. It doesn't matter anyway."

  Missed? No exhibitor dared miss the judge rounds.

  "Hey, I thought we saw you back here."

  Damien pressed his lips into a thin line and turned his head to nod at Arthur. Bad timing for his boss to come by to say hello. So close to getting an answer, too. "You and Tish out for a night on the town?"

  Tish laughed, hugging Arthur's side as they stood at the end of their table. "Not quite that rambunctious. I didn't have much of a chance to go out for simple dinners on Earth. Arthur is making up for the lack."

  "That, and a great many other things," Arthur growled at her before kissing the top of her head.