When Sparks Fly (25 page)

Ah, the girl was merciful after all! And now
he knew she approved of him.

“Deal,” he said. “We can even start right
now if you like. The far side of the garden makes a good place to
work out.”

Xera grinned. “A man after my own heart.
This is going to be fun!”

But an hour later, Xera wasn’t looking so
perky. Sweaty and disheveled, she hunched over with her hands on
her knees and desperately sucked in a breath.

Blue raised a brow. “You’re out of
shape.”

She said something uncomplimentary. It was
hard to make out the exact adjective over her gasping.

Blue
tsk
ed. “An hour or two a day of
working out won’t put you in the same shape as men who train for
this. On the job it was dawn ’til dark of push, push, push. A month
of training ought to see some improvement, though.”

She straightened up. “Fine. We can hit it
again after lunch.”

“If it’s any consolation, you’ve got natural
talent.” He waved his hand toward the path for her to precede
him.

“I’m consoled, all right,” she joked. “But
just don’t tell me how long it took you to learn all you know or I
might be tempted to stay.”

“You’ll be on a ship cruising the galaxy
before you know it,” he assured her. “It won’t hurt to take these
extra routines with you.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.

Gem met them as they walked in the kitchen
door. She eyed Xera’s stringy, sweaty hair and asked, “What have
you been up to?”

Xera swung an arm around her shoulders.
“Blue’s teaching me his martial arts, sis. You should join us.”

Gem grimaced and pushed Xera’s arm away.
“Yuck. You’re covered in sweat.”

“It feels great. Nothing like a workout to
get the endorphins flowing.”

Blue looked sideways at Gem and winked. He
knew a few other ways, and all of them were flitting through his
head.

Gem’s cheeks flushed, as she clearly saw
what he was thinking. “Glad you’re having fun,” she said. Her eyes
fell to Blue’s bandaged hand. “How is it?” she asked.

“Healing. The nanobots will have it good as
new very soon. I’m just covering it to keep from grossing you
out.”

She smiled. “I’m not grossed out, just
worried. And…thank you for what you did for us.”

Xera discreetly left.

Seeing an opportunity, Blue took a step
closer. “My pleasure. I’m just glad I was there and able to
help.”

“I meant to ask you, what about your heart?
Have your injuries been bothering you? What with all that exertion,
I’m surprised you didn’t have any issues.”

Blue shrugged his good shoulder. “The
patches must have grafted in there pretty good, because I haven’t
dropped dead or anything. The medics looked me over and chewed me
out, but they didn’t order bed rest.” They had warned him to take
it easy, and his shoulder burned some, but the healing accelerators
had done an amazing job of speeding his recovery. It didn’t hurt
that the medical nanobots he’d had implanted in the navy were still
hard at work, too. As the military had finally discovered, it was a
lot cheaper to heal a wounded soldier than to train a new one.

“Just in case, maybe you should take it
easy,” Gem was saying. “There’s no reason for you to push yourself
now. I was thinking that it would be more comfortable for you to
move into the spare room. Like we offered a long time ago. I don’t
think my manager wants to share his office anyway,” she added with
a wry smile. “Now that you’re back.”

“So, you’re letting me stay?” he asked
casually, but his heart and happiness were riding on the
answer.

“I’d say I owe you. You have free room and
board until you’re fully healed. That is, if you want to stay, I
mean.”

“I want to,” he was hasty to admit. “In
fact, I’d like to talk to you in private, if you have a moment.” It
was time to strike, while the iron was hot.

“Sure.” She let him place a hand on her
lower back and guide her out into the garden, to where he and Xera
had just been. He’d have to suggest she build a gazebo out here,
maybe add some more flowers. It would be nice if couples had a
place to be private; couples such as the two of them. In lieu of
that, he sat with her on a crude plank bench under the shade of a
fruit tree.

He gave her a serious look and took her hand
in his. “Gem…I want to marry you.” The words were blurted out
before he could think twice.

She blinked. Her mouth worked but no sound
came out.

He held up a hand. “I know it’s soon, and
there’s a lot going on right now. I’m just telling you my
intentions up front. I plan to court you, to give you time to get
used to the idea. I also want you to know that money has nothing to
do with my feelings. That asteroid we were farming? Well,
I
own it. Don’t look so surprised! I told you I’d made some good
investments in my life. I’ve prepared a spreadsheet of my assets to
go over with you so that…”

She waved her hand, embarrassed. “You don’t
have to do that!”

He captured her hand again, held it gently.
“Yes, I do. I want you to be sure that what I want is you, not your
money or your business. You deserve no less.” He took a deep
breath. “I’ve seen a lot to admire in you…”

“I nearly got you killed!”

He gave her a stern look. “Don’t interrupt.
I’ve seen a lot of good in you, right from the beginning. You took
an interest in me when you thought I was nothing, took a chance and
gave me a job. You put up with my behaving like a tramp, though I
have to admit not all of it was acting. I do love irritating your
cook and eating his food.” He grinned wickedly before slowly
sobering. “We still have a lot to learn about each other, too, but
I’m willing to give us time. I hope you’ll consider my request for
what it is: an offer of partnership. I want a wife and a lover. I
want you.”

Gem’s eyes were misty. She swallowed hard.
“I…it’s so unsettled now.”

He grazed his fingers under her chin in a
caress. “But you favor me?”

She smiled and looked away. “You know I
do.”

“Then it’s settled. We’re courting,” he said
softly, and sealed the deal.

It had been so long since their last kiss
that Gem had almost forgotten how he made her feel. She moaned into
his mouth, obsessed with his taste, his feel. Here was a man to
drown in. All her pain faded in his arms, and her fear melted under
the force of passion. It wasn’t passion only, though. What she felt
for him had grown until she ached with it, wanted nothing more than
to curl inside him and heal. His kiss promised rest and joy and
peace. She’d longed for those things without knowing what she
wanted. Now he was here and she needed nothing else.

He broke their kiss and grazed his lips
across the plane of her cheek. His breathing was harsh in her ear.
“Much more of this and I’m going to go up in flames.”

She laughed, feeling dizzy. It felt good to
rest in his arms. “Mmm.”

He held her a moment, then sat up. “We
should go inside.”

“Should we?” she protested mildly when he
stood and gave her a hand up. “I can’t remember anything pressing I
have to do.”

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her.
“We could announce our courtship.”

“I think it’ll be obvious,” she said dryly.
It would be hard to miss their besotted looks and the arm he had
about her waist. Of course, given the busy minds and puritan values
around here, a formal announcement might be best.

Jamir actually scowled at Blue when they
told him their news, but his face softened when he looked at his
employer. “A thousand blessings on you,” he said, and kissed Gem on
both cheeks.

Xera entered the kitchen and looked at them
all with interest. “What did I miss?” she asked.

“We’re officially courting,” Blue said.

Xera’s brows rose. “Well, fast work! What
was that, seconds? Let’s hope you aren’t as speedy in all your
doings!”

Gem blushed. “Xera! That’s tavern talk!”

“Yeah, you hear a few things in the
taproom,” Xera agreed cheekily. “But congratulations to you both.
Won’t hurt my feelings if you speed things along, either. I want to
get to the academy before I die of old age.” She stilled Gem’s
imminent protest with a bone-crushing hug, which hastily lightened
at her sister’s pained squeak. “Sorry! I forgot about your
shoulder.”

Gem grunted and rubbed it, but she forgot
her annoyance when Blue’s hand found her lower back. “It’s all
right,” she said.

Xera clapped her hands. “Great, so let’s
celebrate! I say we go out to eat. Love your cooking, Jamir, but
I’m in the mood for chocolate.”

“Sorry, Xera, but I want your sister to
myself for the day,” Blue spoke up. “I’d planned to go find Brandy
and tell her, then take Gem out for a while. She needs a break from
this place.”

Xera didn’t argue. Brandy proved elusive,
however. After an exhaustive hunt, Gem and Blue found her in the
back lot, talking to a tall Kiuyian man. The pair glanced up as
Blue and Gem approached.

Brandy smiled. Gem was startled by the
lightness in her sister’s expression as she said, “Gem, you
remember our old neighbor M’acht?”

“Match,” the man corrected. He looked at
Brandy with a rueful smile. “I’ve been with the miners too long. A
man can’t introduce himself as ‘M’acht’and expect anything but
ribbing.” Pronounced Mah-ach-EE, his Kiuyian name had an
unfortunate similarity to a popular girl’s name. Not that he looked
in the least girlish. His pale green hair was longish but not
feminine, and he was dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt and
canvas pants. The boots on his feet were scarred from heavy
use.

Brandy looked surprised. “Bet your father
loves that. He was always such a stickler for tradition.”

Match’s green eyes darkened. “My father has
no say in it now.”

“Oh.”

The word was a cross between wonder
and…admiration? From Brandy? Gem regarded her neighbor with more
interest. “Match. It’s been a while,” she said. “You shipped out
what, two years ago?”

“Three and a half,” Brandy supplied. “You
remember, it was the night of that big electrical storm.”

“Oh, right,” Gem agreed, though she
remembered no such thing. “So you decided freight hauling didn’t
agree with you?”

“Something like that. I hear my younger
brother’s been giving you grief. Setting fire, stealing…” The
Kiuyian blushed.

“It’s been an exciting season,” Gem
admitted. Unwilling to discuss it, she gestured to Blue. “This is
Blue, my…” She stumbled, unused to introducing him in the new
way.

“Boyfriend,” Blue supplied, shaking Match’s
hand. “Nice to meet you.” He met Brandy’s surprised gaze and added,
“We were coming to tell you we’ve begun courting.”

“Oh.” Brandy seemed at a loss for words.
“Congratulations, really. You make a lovely couple.” There was an
awkward pause.

Match looked kindly at Brandy. “You used to
make a fabulous spiky melon soda, as I recall. Been brewing up
anything interesting lately?”

Brandy stiffened. Her face turned pale.
“I-I’ll see you later.” She turned her wheelchair around and
left.

Match gave Gem a surprised look, then raced
after Brandy. “What’d I say? Brandy? Bran? Stop that!” He stepped
in front of her chair with an annoyed expression right at the
doorway. “We’re not kids anymore. You’d think we could go five
minutes without fight…Are you crying?” He looked more closely.

“No!” Brandy turned her face away and tried
to go around him. “Leave me alone!”

“Maybe we should leave them to it,” Blue
suggested. He put his hand under Gem’s elbow and tried to escort
her away.

Torn, she shook her head. “Wait.”

Match knelt by Brandy’s side. “Hey, I’m
sorry. Whatever I did, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“Haven’t you heard?” Brandy demanded,
sniffling.

The Kiuyian shook his head. “I’ve only been
home an hour. I had time to walk in the door and fight with my dad
and that was it. Want to tell me about it?”

“
Now
we can go,” Gem said, allowing
Blue to lead her off. She glanced over her shoulder as they walked
away. “I hadn’t realized she still liked him.”

“Liked?” Blue glanced at her, and there was
amusement in his eyes.

“Cared about him. They used to fight all the
time, but I always knew she favored him. She got very quiet after
he left.” Her eyebrows drew together. Match’s home life had never
been very good. She’d been rather relieved when he left because it
reduced the fighting next door. Now she wished she’d paid more
attention to how Brandy felt.

“I think it’s time we got out of here,” Blue
said, glancing at her face. “I’m determined to make you smile
today.”

She smiled just to prove she could.

“Better,” he responded. “We’ll see if we can
up the wattage a little.”

He took her to lunch at a colorful Outlander
restaurant, and introduced her to a hot stew with the power to set
her mouth aflame. Afterward he took her to the tree-lined shores of
Lunar Lake and bought her a fruit ice. They walked along the sandy
shores, enjoying the sun and each other.

“I can’t believe this place was once a
barren asteroid. Makes me really appreciate all they’ve done with
it.” Gem looked around at the birds fluttering in the trees, the
water ducks and distant dolphins at play. “I should ask the
gardeners here how they do it. Flowers struggle in my garden, but
here they’ve got entire bushes and trees blooming their hearts
out.”

Blue grinned. “Maybe you were meant to stick
to inn-keeping, not farming.”

She grimaced. “Why do you think we hire that
out? Seriously, this is a great place. I don’t know why I haven’t
come here more often.”

“You work too hard,” he said simply. “We’ll
have to make a habit of this.”

She looked at his smile and wondered what
else they could make a habit of. Just being with him felt like a
reward.