Page 35 of Master
Not the overweight, sad Elvis from just before he died. This was a young, handsome, fun Elvis. The Elvis as young and handsome as he'd been in his earlier movies,Girls, Girls, Girls,andBlue Hawaii.
The couple linked hands and started toward the house, freezing when Tarook and I came into view. They paused, sharing a look, and Elvis's arm stole around the woman's shoulders, pulling her close. They both threw up a hand in greeting, smiling sincerely.
“Hello there. Where did you two come from? The woman’s voice held a southern accent thicker than my own.
Tarook led me to a stop within a few feet of the couple.
Yep, definitely young Elvis.
"My apologies. We do not mean to disturb you." Tarook gave a deep incline of his head in greeting. “Our ship crashed on approach to the settlement.”
“Mercy! Are you two alright?” The smile on the man’s face morphed into an expression of concern echoed by the woman.
"We're fine," I assured, forcing myself to relax. A youth spent in foster care made easily meeting new people an unacquired skill.
"You sure, honey?" The woman took a step forward, her dark brown gaze assessing first me, then Tarook. “Crashing ain’t nothing to sneeze at.”
“I’m sure,” I insisted, although there was a spot between my shoulder blades that might argue with me later.
"You're one of them, Vaktaire, ain't you?"
I stiffened at the man’s words. He didn't sound prejudiced... neither was Elvis from what I remembered, butpeople can change. Especially people abducted by aliens, given a memory wipe, and dumped on a new planet.
A long-fingered hand lifted toward Tarook, the signal of greeting on Earth.
I glanced at Tarook. His face held the usual expression of laid-back charm. I’d wanted to smack the countenance off his face at first, but it was growing on me. Tarook disengaged his grip on my fingers, grabbed the man's hand, and shook it firmly.
"My name is Tarook, and this is Clara."
Once the handshake ended, Tarook settled his hand on my shoulder. It was a possessive gesture, to be sure, but I didn't hate it. Tarook made me feel safe. Not just safe from danger, but safe to be myself... with all the baggage that conveyed.Curtis and the Outlander girls had the designation of being the only others to make me feel so accepted.
"I'm Buck, and this is my wife, Lula. Welcome to our farm.” The man said the words without the slightest hesitation or sense of falsehood. So, either this wasn't Elvis, or it was, and the aliens wiped his memory.
“Nice to meet you.” I nodded to Buck and Lula in turn.
“Do you know how much farther the settlement is from here?” Tarook asked, craning his neck to look further down the dusty road, rolling past the farmstead.
"Oh, another fifteen miles or so," Buck frowned as his gaze followed the path Tarook’s had taken. “You’ll never make it by nightfall. Tau Ceti’s a safe place mostly, but the roads ain’t safe to be walking at night. We still got things with teeth that come out after dark.”
I flashed Tarook a grin, knowing from the faint roll of his eyes he recalled the cow as I did. He’d been sweet to go all warrior mode to protect me. I shouldn’t tease him. Still, when the grunts, snuffles and smell of several pigs littered the air, I couldn’t help but wonder what Tarook would think of them.
"You can spend the night here, and we'll take you into the settlement tomorrow."
“What?” Lula’s words brought me out of my head. The woman definitely wasn't from the 21stcentury with that kind of hospitality. On Earth, I'd be worried we were stepping into some Texas Chainsaw Massacre situation, not that Leatherface would be a match for Tarook. This wasn't Earth, though. I sensed nothing but sincere hospitality from the couple.
“We don’t want to impose,” I began. Alien abduction makes strange bedfellows, but staying overnight at the home of people I’d met five minutes ago was a little much, even from a former foster kid.
“It ain’t no imposition,” Buck insisted.
"We're headed into the settlement for market day and the potluck tomorrow, anyhow." Lula took a step forward, snatching my hand and squeezing it.
"I'd feel better knowing you were under my roof for the night than wandering out in the dark. Besides, it would be an honor to host a Vaktaire in our home." Buck glanced toward the woods, and I didn't miss the hint of trepidation that crossed his pale blue eyes. The way Tarook's fingers squeezed my shoulder, I knew he didn't miss it either.
I glanced up at the warrior—he’d have to do all the fighting and rescuing if things went sideways, so it was his call.
The corners of Tarook’s mouth twitched at me before he turned his gaze to Buck. “It would honor us to be your guests.”
“Goodie!” Lula clapped her hands, spinning in a small circle. “We ain’t had company in forever.” She came to a stop and fixed me with a bright grin.
