Page 31 of Kiss of Steel

But her concern brought him surprising pleasure, filling him with warmth. “I won’t do anything to get myself killed.”

She eyed him dubiously.

“Promise.” He crossed his heart.

“I think you like riding those dangerous animals.”

“I do,” he admitted. “I really do.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Have they succeeded in breaking any of them? Can any be ridden now?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, there you go. That says it all.”

“That’s because they haven’t had the right person to get the job done—me.” He puffed out his chest.

“You are such a man!”

“And that is the sweetest thing you could have said to me.”

She squealed when he grabbed her and planted a wet one on her mouth.

Chapter Fourteen

The shoppers descended like a plague of locusts. One moment, all was calm and peaceful, and the next, buses and wagons pulled into the quad and released the boisterous hordes. Aliens of all persuasions packed into the mercantile. She’d never heard so many different languages—incomprehensible clicks, squeaks, growls.

Merchandise flew off the shelves. Fortunately, Maven had two transaction tablets, so they could both check out customers, but the line to pay stretched the length of the store most of the day. The atmosphere was jovial, imbued with camaraderie like a Black Friday sale, and, if the customers grew impatient with the wait, they didn’t show it.

Around midday, Maven urged her to take a break, but that would have left her boss alone, so Honoria worked through lunch.

Finally, as the shop approached closing time, the last wagon pulled out of the quad, and she slumped against the counter, gaping at the denuded inventory. It was like the store had been pillaged, except the invaders had paid for their loot.

Maven hadn’t been exaggerating in the least about how the travelers would pick the shelves clean. Entire rows had been emptied of merchandise. She was so thankful her boss had allowed her to reserve the items she needed. All the herb cake tongs had been sold, along with all the cold weather gear. Before the store opened, she’d added warm shirts and socks for both of them to her stash.

The rodents were gone, purchased by a squat, two-headed purple alien.

“That was crazier than a 50-percent-off sale on wedding dresses,” Honoria said.

Maven laughed. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until Fresh Start.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a planet-wide holiday for refugees to celebrate their second chance. Towns and settlements host a festival, but leading up to it is the busiest shopping period of the solar cycle.”

Busier than today?“When is that?” She stifled a groan. The busy day had passed in a flash, but it had been exhausting.

“Not until next year—the start of the warm season. Don’t worry—during the winter months, when it gets too cold to travel, business drops off. Wagon wheels will freeze on the road if they stop rolling. Many conveyances aren’t heated, so it tends to discourage long-distance travel.”

“Why did the two-headed purple guy buy the rodents?”

“He’s going to eat them. They’re a delicacy.”

She wrinkled her nose.Gross.

“It was a special order for him. You probably didn’t notice the cage was tagged with his name.

“No, I didn’t.” She glanced around. “Guess we had a good sales day, huh?”

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