Page 24 of Healing Creek
Jupiter clasped his shoulder gently. “My mates and I must leave soon to fulfill a promise they made, but we will meet the ship at the resistance base. If I do not see you again before we leave, walk free and be safe until we meet again.”
Creek watched him turn and walk back to the pack. Could he truly call these Dog’s brothers? He wasn’t sure, but he thought with some hope, he could at least call Jupiter a friend. And that was something he’d never had before.
Chapter Nine
TheAbundance
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.192
Grace was patching a crew member’s minor burn when Creek returned to the med-bay. She’d been relieved when the Dreat standing guard that morning had accompanied Patel and Santos to the slave hold. They were now being held with the crew that had been deemed unsafe. A single human woman had replaced the Dreat at the door and Creek greeted her by name then instructed her to wait outside.
He was probably only there to escort her back to her room, but Grace couldn’t suppress her happiness at seeing him again. Just having him near made her feel safer.
The medic had not been unkind, but he’d been mostly businesslike. She was accustomed to the attitude. Many of her brothers and sisters were the same, preoccupied with their research or other projects. Most of the time she was beneath their notice.
But Creek noticed her. As much as she noticed him. She noticed the flecks of gold in his brown eyes. She noticed those alert ears and the angles of his face. She noticed the breadth of his shoulders and longed for him to hold her, but that way lay danger. Before leaving, Patel had warned her again not to get too close to the Arena Dogs. She hadn’t told him there was one Arena Dog she very much wanted to be close to.
Putting her mind back on her task, she finished up the medicated sealer she’d been applying to the tool slinger’s hand. “There you go,” she said. “You shouldn’t have any more pain. If you do, come back to see the medic.”
“Thanks.” The man smiled warmly at her. “Though I’d rather come back when you’re here. Doc doesn’t have your bedside manner.”
Creek growled in the back of his throat as he came to stand at her side. Was his protective attitude toward her different from her family’s or was she seeing only what she wanted.
“Ah, thanks again, Grace.” The man scrambled down from the med-bed and strode out the door.
“Where’s the medic?” asked Creek with a scowl.
“Resting. There’s a small office with a cot at the back of the bay. As the only working medic he’s on call all the time.” Creek had tucked his dark hair into a knot at the back of his neck, leaving his high cheekbones to draw her eye. She couldn’t resist the urge to touch him in an effort to chase his scowl away. She brushed a loose lock away from his cheek, tucking it behind his ear with her fingertips, and his face softened. “Have you come to let the medic look at the injury causing you pain when you walk?”
His scowl was back in a flash. “I’m no longer injured.”
“Hmm?” She hummed her disbelief. “An old injury perhaps?”
He sighed. “Many old injuries,” he muttered.
“Right.” She couldn’t stop the curl of her lips. There was no humor to be found in his pain, but his disgruntled expression touched her. She knew the injuries likely came from terrible battles he’d been forced to fight. Even damaged, he was still a dangerous man. But with her, he’d been nothing but gentle.
“The medic could give you something for the pain, at least.”
He hmphed and tugged at her sleeve. “I brought you better fitting clothes.” He pulled off a pack he’d been carrying slung over one shoulder and handed it to her.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued, “If you are going to help the medic you don’t want your garments getting in the way.”
She was done helping the medic for the day, but there didn’t seem to be much point in arguing. “All right. Thank you,” she said, tucking the bag under her arm.
“Good.” It was not good, if his scowl was anything to judge by. He had the look of a small boy whose gift of a flower is lost on the girl who’d rather get her hands on one of his toys.
Letting her smile show, she stood motionless for a moment. Soaked in his thoughtfulness. He’d been thinking of her while he had other tasks to do.
She was debating what words would show her appreciation without embarrassing him when he huffed at her. “Try them on. You must see if they fit.”
“Oh! Okay.” She looked quickly around the room she’d been in for hours as if it was new. She dodged across to one of the exam beds that had a pull-out privacy screen and slid it out and around.
She plopped the bag on the bed and pulled it open wide. There were several outfits inside. Her stomach twisted over making use of some unknown woman’s wardrobe when she could be suffering in a cell. But she refused to come up short in the showing of appreciation again.
She chose a pair of soft, blue pants and a short cream sweater. They were a surprisingly good fit. Long enough for her legs and not so big they swallowed her up. She was tall for a woman, and she’d lost pounds she couldn’t afford during her stay on Morgan’s ship.
