Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance)

by Marlow, J. A.

  "I'm not as good as he is. Zane is the logical leader," Arthur said just as sternly.

  "You're a great leader," Tish countered. Damien added his opinion, as well.

  "No, that's not the point," Zane said, suddenly sounding weary. "This is what happened before. My connection at the cost of others, including my life. The station allows you access to all areas, accepts you as leader. Even better, unlike during my time, it's allowed responsibilities to split among several people, such as Tish."

  He smiled at Arthur. "I think it learned its lesson with me when I left. Too much responsibility on only one person. This is the way it should be. I may be staying but I don't want it to become dependent on me again. For all our sakes. You take lead and I'll take backup for what you are too busy for, such as this project. I have no desire for the position I once held."

  Arthur still didn't look convinced, but he did say, "It would be nice to have experienced help with the more difficult projects."

  "Then consider it done. I have my first project," Zane said, gesturing to the room.

  "Absolutely. Give our people the options of larger apartments they can really build a life in instead of feeling transitory." Tish grinned at Arthur. "Not that it's been my problem. The station gave me a different apartment than Arthur assigned."

  "The station spoils you," Arthur said severely at her.

  "And I work hard for it." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Which reminds me. Rachel, time to make that list I was talking about. Zane will need it, and I want to see how much I need to fix in this area. Come on, bots. Time to get to work."

  The group dispersed, with the Naughty Knitter's Club converging on Zane to laugh, hug, and kiss him.

  Damien didn't join in. He had his own little slice of life to deal with, one that was currently warm and snuggly on his arm.

  "What was the "oh no" for a few minutes ago?" Damien asked as the conversation on the other side of the room started up. Rachel and Tish came out of the back of the apartment and headed out the door, a line of five bots trailing behind them.

  Vallory shook her head, turning to look down at where Penny lay at her feet, the baby wide awake and in the process of climbing off her back. "Upside-down" No response from either daubpup. "Bossy?"

  At the last word, the baby chittered, looking straight up at Vallory. Even Penny yipped.

  Vallory closed her eyes as if in pain. Damien had seen the look before, but not associated with animals. "Oh, let me guess. The baby just decided what its name is?"

  "Yes. Bossy. Somehow appropriate for a new baby of the biggest troublemaker in my group." Vallory opened her eyes, laughter dancing in them. "Very appropriate, and a little scary."

  "Great. You have a baby named, and I still have nothing for my bot. Even if it is a silly name for a baby," Damien said, with a glare down at the bot hovering over the floor near his feet.

  "Hey, I already have one named Frumpmuffin. Bossy isn't that bad. Your bot may not be named yet, but at least it hasn't decided on a name like "Gertrude," "Tempertantrum," or "Buffy"…" Vallory froze as his bot whistled excitedly. She stared down at it. "What did that mean?"

  Damien covered his eyes with a hand, groaning. Letting his hand drop, he repeated, "Gertrude." No response at all. He glared at Vallory and she struggled to keep from bursting out laughing. Oh, he knew which name it responded to. The one out of the bunch that was the worst. Through gritted teeth, he repeated, "Buffy."

  The bot chirped and whistled, both eyestalks bobbing.

  ***

  The expression on Damien's face was priceless. Vallory knew she would remember it for the rest of her life.

  She burst out laughing, even though it made him scowl all the more. "I'm sorry, but it's great. We both have named babies."

  "My bot is not a baby." He scowled down at it. "You couldn't pick a different name?"

  "Everything okay, Damien?" Arthur called out from the living room where he and Zane were now sitting down and talking. The Naughty Knitter's Club and Siggy had joined in, as if they had every right to poke their noses into the business of the maintenance crew.

  "Oh, I'm fine. My bot decided on a brilliant new name," Damien said, frowning fiercely at Vallory. Which only set her off laughing again.

  "Oh, don't keep us in suspense," Daisy said with a friendly smile from where she sat in one of the ugly brown chairs. "What is it?"

  "Buffy."

  A round of surprised expressions as the bot chirped and whistled in response to the name didn't help Vallory's laughter any. Then the entire room burst out laughing.

  "Thanks for support." Damien grabbed her hand and took the two steps needed to drag her away from the door and off to the side.

  She wiped the tears from her eyes. "What a group we are. Daubpups, bots, and us."

  "I think it makes a wonderful family."

  The words brought a sudden stop to the laughter. She stared up at him, searching his face for the truth. "Is that what you want?"

  He let go of her arm, and even took a step back. Such a small distance, but much too far for her liking. "Only if you want it. If you want to stay here."

  "What a silly question. I thought we were way past this." Vallory took a step forward to close the gap. "It isn't if I want it. I've already said I do. The question is, do you want it? With your complete heart and soul, willing to do everything you can to make it work? It does take two, after all."

  "I do want it." His eyebrows pressed together, creating sharp worry lines between them. "But, I do worry."

  "We all worry about things." Vallory nibbled at her bottom lip, wondering just how much she should push. No, she had to. This meant too much. "What is it?"

  "Do you think you could settle in one place? Not getting up and moving all the time?"

  "I'm not a nomad." She frowned at him. "When have I given that impression?"

  The frown remained. What would it take to get it to go away. "You said as much to Shay. The day we met."

  "Ah." Now it made sense. Her smile returned. "You mean the big man trying to flirt with me when all I wanted was the temperature of the daubpup enclosure fixed? The man I'm completely not interested in, and never will be? He didn't exactly take clues easily."

  The frowning eased. A bit of humor returned to his face as he nodded. "Yes, he was persistent."

  "Okay, I admit, I've had to move around as part of my job, but that's because as a xenobiologists go, I'm pretty small potatoes. Not many full-time regular jobs for someone like me." She smiled down at the daubpups. "Until now, that is."

  Her attention snapped back to Damien when his warm hand took hers into it. "Then you might be happy staying here? With maybe vacations to other places?"

  "I grew up in only one place. A small town on Hydrai, which I've missed terribly. I want that back." Time to be bold, and that was something Vallory rarely had trouble with. Hard this time just because it meant so much. Harder because if she did this wrong, she could blow it all.

  The thought of losing him, this chance, caused a physical pain in her chest. She wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest and into the crook of his neck. "You better get these apartments fixed, because we need a place of our own. The pet show is almost over and then I'll be homeless. I don't think I would like that."

  He pulled her away from his chest, but still held her tight. His bright eyes captivated her. She couldn't look away, as if he had hypnotized her. "You are not homeless. You never will be while you are with me."

  "You better mean that forever," Vallory whispered. "I'm like Zane. I know I belong here, but it won't be home without you."

  "It's a promise." His arms tightened around her, and he said sternly, "I love you, Vallory Schist. Just get used to the idea."

  She poked him in the middle of his chest with a finger. "I love you, Damien Lysander, but don't get to acting like you're my boss."

  The two daubpups chattered and yelped. A bot whistled. A smile appeared on Damien's face. "Right. We both know who are th
e real bosses around here."

  And time he knew who the other boss was. Before he could say anything else, Vallory reached up and pulled his head down to her lips. The kiss deepened in the way she'd always wanted, had always craved. All his emotion poured into it. She met it with her own, not backing down for a moment.

  The man she thought she had no interest in. "Not her type." Hah, how she'd been proven wrong on that one.

  The one who didn't back down from her temper. Who her daubpups loved, and who wanted her and them in his life. On a station that had nearly killed her, but at the same time had welcomed her with the little bots that looked to it.

  Oh yes, she'd found home, in a way and a place she would have never thought to look for it.

  The kiss broke off, and expression of confusion and irk on Damien's face.

  "What is it?" Vallory asked quickly.

  Damien demanding, "Is something climbing up my leg?"

  The End

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  J.A. Marlow writes across many genres, including science fiction, young adult, romance, and others. A private pilot with several years of flying experience in Alaska, J.A. Marlow enjoys adding to stories a touch of the mystery and exotic nature of the land sometimes called “the last frontier.” Popular series include "The String Weavers," "Salmon Run," and "Redpoint One."

  Publisher Homepage: http://starcatcherpub.com

  Author Homepage: JAMarlow.com

  Author Newsletter: JAMarlow.com/newsletter-signup/

  Twitter ID: jamarlow_sf

  Email: jamarlow.sf@gmail.com

  Other Titles From J.A. Marlow

  The String Weavers (The String Weavers - Book 1): Disappearing food. Music no one else hears. An alien dropped off by a giant flaming bird... Abducted from Earth, Kelsey Hale finds herself in the middle of a deadly conflict among alien worlds and parallel universes. She must not only survive, but also rescue her father from a dangerous group of unknown intent. In the process discovering a family secret that will change her life forever.

  Children of Jad Omnibus: It started an ordinary day and ended in a discovery that shook the planet of Jad. Through the threat of possible war, pirates, Chion Warriors, treasure hunters and more, Elvy Akuma and her friends Tiver and Pelik band together to protect themselves, the heritage of Jad, and peace itself. This Omnibus collects together: Glint of a Suncatcher, Glint of a Ring, Glint of an Artifact, Glint of a Tower

  Into the Forest Shadows: Grandmother's house. A red cape. A planet-wide conspiracy. An invitation to visit Grandmother's house among the renowned giant trees of the planet gives Kate a welcome respite from her overbearing Uncle Travis. After Grandma goes missing, she joins forces with a local Gatherer boy to confront a deadly threat to the human colonists, forest inhabitants, and even the moving trees themselves. Before the conspiracy kills them all. A Science Fiction novel retelling of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood."

  SAMPLE - NIGHT OF THE AURORA (SALMON RUN - BOOK 1)

  A new life in Alaska, a massive aurora, and a hidden spaceship under the ice and snow…

  For Hawk and Zach Callahan, getting to the small town of Salmon Run presents the first challenge. They think they have it made when they board the unique train that will take them through a dark roadless wilderness to their new home. The same night a massive Aurora Borealis strands them in the middle of nowhere.

  An Aurora also affecting an alien spaceship hidden beneath the ice and snow...

  Welcome to Salmon Run, Alaska! A place of wild animals, wild lands, and wild inhabitants...oh, and native legends come alive and an interplanetary alien conflict at their backdoor.

  Available now!

  ***

  "I get to drive the Zombie!" Sasha whooped, jumping in the air. She vaulted onto a snow machine.

  Grandpa Neeley took a long-suffering deep breath while Zach looked at the big snow machine in question. Sasha thought she could drive it? The size of it dwarfed her.

  "Fine. Sasha, you can take Zach. And drive carefully with him. This is his first time." Grandpa Neeley said.

  "Do we need to bring any of our things?" His father asked, standing uncertainly next to the smaller snow machine he would be riding.

  "The train shouldn't be too much behind you. Big auroras usually don't last long," McRoyal said, clapping him on the back. "Look at it as a way to see the landscape."

  "Come on, Zach. We don't want them to leave us behind." Sasha twisted a key and with a yank of a cord the big engine came to life.

  Seeing his father get on the other snow machine, Zach took the helmet Sasha handed to him and worked to slip it on over his hat and hood.

  "There is break water further down the stream. We're taking the longer route near the plateau," the driver of his father's snow machine shouted at Sasha.

  "Got it!" Sasha shouted back.

  "Is it safe to go off the regular paths?" Zach asked as he adjusted the helmet.

  "Regular paths? Are you serious?" Sasha laughed. "Wide-open wilderness, the Little People are hibernating so they can't cause mischief, an aurora to light our way? Get on and enjoy the ride."

  "Hold on tight, Zach," his father shouted over the sounds of the engines.

  Zach waved at him as he climbed up behind Sasha. "What sort of things do you watch for while driving a snow machine?"

  "Snow covered logs, breaks in a river, stream or lake, hidden drops." She gunned the engine, "And crazy drivers!"

  Zach grabbed the handles at the back of the seat as the machine surged forward.

  Zach held on for dear life, planting his feet firmly on the sideboards railing running along each edge of the snow machine to keep his balance. The snow machine turned off the small knoll the train tracks sat on top of. When they hit the pristine snow at the base he received a cloud full of the stuff in the face.

  He quickly lowered the visor of the helmet. The engine of the snow machine filled his ears as Sasha seemed determined to outrace the other drivers to town.

  But as they reached the pack she slowed down. After a few minutes he decided that she'd been having a bit of fun at his expense.

  She wasn't a crazy driver. She kept pace with the other snow machines in the little pack, following their tracks unless it proved too rough, and then she would veer off slightly to make her own path through the soft snow. His father turned slightly to look back at them before facing forward with a stiff back. Compared to the relaxed postures of the other snow machiners, Zach was sure he and his father stuck out like sore thumbs.

  The snow machine bobbed up and down with the bumps and depressions of the landscape. After a few anxious moments, and vision of himself flying through the air when Sasha hit one of the bumps, he relaxed his death grip on the handles just below him on the side of the seat.

  He pulled the helmet down a little bit, annoyed it kept slipping backwards. If he was going to be doing this a lot he needed to see about getting a helmet that fit him properly.

  Sasha slowed down to follow the others as they wove in and out of a stand of trees. She reached back to push at him, shouting, "Lean with me, not against."

  Zach tried, but it didn't feel natural. It would take so little for them to tip over. He liked it a lot better when they came up over a hill and broke out into a big flat area with only scattered clumps of trees. The snow machines opened up, taking off across it at full speed.

  Okay, he liked the speed. Nothing to run into, nothing to worry about. Just pure speed. Maybe he could get McRoyal to bring him out to someplace like this to teach him how to drive a snow machine himself.

  Feeling the first bits of cold seeping through his snow pants, he thanked his father for not listening to him about the money. He would have been frozen in his hiking boots, jeans, and denim coat. Perhaps literally.

  The aurora flared above them, making the white of the snow around them reflect back brilliant red and green. Zach had to squint against the sudden brightness. Next chance he got, he was going to look up the aurora studies in Fairbanks
that Sasha mentioned. Maybe they had a long-distance college course he could take.

  Suddenly, through the snow pants and parka he felt a flush of warm air. The visor of his helmet fogged up, only allowing the glow of the aurora through, but not allowing him to see any shapes around him. He heard the engine of the snow machine slow down.

  Where did the warmth come from? He hadn't seen anything in the large clearing to indicate a home or cabin of any kind.

  The seat beneath him dropped out from under him, along with the rest of the snow machine. Along with it, even warmer air enveloped him as he fell in a kaleidoscope of lights and darks and colored lights.

  ***

  "Night of the Aurora (Salmon Run - Book 1)" is available at online retailers everywhere.

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  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-937042-44-8

  Published exclusively by: Star Catcher Publishing

  Copyright 2014 J.A. Marlow. All Rights Reserved.

  Illustrations and graphics copyright 2014 by J.A. Marlow. All rights reserved.

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