Page 41 of Star Bright
Those gray eyes searched hers another moment before he stepped back with a grunt for his child. “And you will belay me?”
So the two of them squared off to the wall, the children calling encouraging comments to their teammates and good-natured insults across the wall.
“It’s not really a race,” Vash murmured to her very quietly.
“Whoever wins gets the last tart,” she challenged. “Assuming there are any left.”
The rings of fire were back. “May the best planet win.”
He cheated, she knew that, because even with just one hand on the hard route, he was so strong and dexterous. And he didn’t even really have to worry about falling. But at the last moment, just as he was about to reach for the bell with his “good” hand, his foot slipped. The safety mechanism caught him at once, and everyone cheered as Darcy rang the bell.
She quickly checked Yadira’s expression, worried that the fall might’ve troubled the girl again, but she was just chuffing at her father and gave Darcy a shoulder bump. “You did it! We won.”
Darcy ended up dividing the tart carefully into quarters so everyone could share.
“What next?” Atsu asked.
“No more tarts,” Vash said.
“I mean for fun.” The boy bounced toward the window of the lobby. “I want to go outside again. It’s been snowing all morning so it’s even deeper. Maybe it will fall so deep we’ll get stuck here and have to stay forever and only eat tarts and drink cocoa.”
“I actually came to tell you the guest wing has reopened,” Darcy said with a glance at Vash. “Why don’t you pick out somerooms, and while you get settled, I’ll see what other games are available. Then we can go outside after lunch.”
Atsu took her hand. “Do you promise? You won’t forget?”
“As long as your father approves.” She forced herself to keep her expression neutral as she looked at Vash again.
He licked a berry stain off his thumb—slower than seemed necessary—and gave her a slow blink. “We’ve liked all your games.”
Ooh, he deserved a bite for that look.
Ug led the draklings to the unlocked wing while Darcy met up with Kong to check storage. The cross-country skis and ice skates would be too large for Atsu, and both required more coordination than she or the restless little boy would enjoy. And while she could imagine how an ice fishing tent might be a cozy spot for a romantic interlude, that didn’t seem right either. She thought for a moment. “Can we appropriate the 3D printers in the garage for a quick project? It’s a very simple shape.”
The robot plugged its extension cord into the storage room outlet. “According to the hangar auto system, the repairs to the drakling ship are nearly complete. What would you like to fabricate?”
After a quick lunch where Atsu downed the vegetables as enthusiastically as he had decimated the tarts, they borrowed the hover cart, dressed warmly, and drove out to the garage.
The printed discs that she handed to them still felt a little warm, but by the time she led them out to the nearby hill, they had cooled.
“This is sledding,” Darcy informed them. She took a short run across the crest of the hill bellyflopped onto her disk, and whooped louder than Atsu as she rocketed away.
Admittedly, it had been long time since she tried this, and as the disk spun out of control, she caught a glimpse of the three draklings in close pursuit, with much more whooping all around.
Another spin faced her toward Vash, whose heavier weight increased his speed.
“Where are the controls?” he shouted. “How do we steer?”
“No controls,” she yelled back. “No steering. Just fun!”
And then he crashed into her.
As crashes went, it was gentle enough. Plus, he caught her around the middle, cushioning her fall with his own body. They rolled once, limbs entangled, and all the breath left her. Not from the impact or even from laughing, just overcome by the wild sensations of soft, cold snow and his hard, hot embrace. When they came to rest—with her on top again—she rested on his chest for a moment before lifting herself to gaze down into his fire-sparked eyes.
“You okay?” he murmured.
Was she? But she nodded because the kids were already hustling up, hauling the runaway sleds and babbling about how they all had to go again. When Vash helped her up and brushed the snow from her backside, she just laughed and nudged him away. But she saw Yadira watching them through narrowed green eyes.
Maybe a bit of control was a good idea.
