Page 31 of Kiss of Fury

“French fries?”

“No.”

“Chicken nuggets?”

“No.”

“Hamburgers.”

“No.”

“Pizza.”

“No.”

“Frog legs!”

“Haveyouhad frog legs?” Fury looked at him.

Brody giggled. “No.”

“Neither have I.”

“But you haven’t had anything,” Brody summarized.

“I’ve had very little,” he agreed. It struck him that this six-year-old child had more life experience than he did. He had experience with only one thing.

Brody popped a moon rock into his mouth. “Not a Tater Tot. But not a rock, either,” he pronounced while eating. Verity would tell him to chew with his mouth closed, but Fury decided to let it slide. “What did you eat?”

“We called it nutri-slop. It tasted like chalk.”

“Why did you eat it, then?”

“It was the only food we were allowed to eat.”

“But you’re a grown-up; you can do what you like.”

“No, I couldn’t, which is why I came here—so I could.”

Dinner passed quickly with Brody expounding on a variety of topics and asking dozens of questions. Curious, honest, and unfiltered, the kid didn’t know how to dissemble. Fury regretted such innocence would have to harden up to enable the boy to survive in the world.

But not yet.He understood Verity’s determination to protect him in every way. He wondered what she’dtold her son about why the two of them had left Earth. She wouldn’t lie, but she’d try to avoid scaring him with the harsh reality. He’d start asking probing questions before much longer. She should figure out now how to explain.

When they started on their dessert—a sweet-filled pastry—he signaled a robo and ordered a meal-to-go, just in case Verity hadn’t gotten time to eat.

“Walk or ride?” he asked when they left the mess hall.

“Ride!”

He hoisted the boy onto his shoulders.

It had become their thing—him carrying the kid home from the mess. After falling asleep with Verity and then waking up next to her, leaving dinner holding her hand with her son on his shoulders was his favorite part of the day.

In the cabin, he stowed the to-go order in the cooler and stoked the stove. “Bath,” he announced. “And don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

To his surprise, the kid trotted off without an argument. When he emerged, he wore his spaceship pajamas.

“Ready for bed?” Fury asked.

---