Page 19 of Searching the Skies

Ash slid closer to her and draped his arm around her shoulders. “If it’s what you want, then I’d be more than happy to accompany you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I hate seeing you like this. I’ll do anything to help.”

“Thanks.”

“Besides, it’ll be nice to get off this ship for a little while.” He gave her a playful squeeze. “Especially if we’re going to a place where the native people won’t be trying to kill us once we arrive.”

A laugh slipped past her lips. “I’ll even buy you a nice dinner. And a few stiff drinks.” Her amusement disappeared and she frowned. “You’ll need them after meeting my mother.”

“She can’t bethatbad.”

“Maybe she won’t be this time. We’ll see.” Geneva uncurled herself from her little ball and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m exhausted. Do you mind if I start getting ready to go to sleep?”

“Of course not.” He brushed the hair away from her face. “Do you want me to stay or go?”

“Up to you.”

“I do seem to always sleep better in here…”

She smiled. “Then stay.” They’d played this game many times before, and it always ended the same way, sleeping side by side for the rest of the night. As she changed into her usual worn T-shirt, she wondered if Ash’s move into her room would ever become permanent, but fatigue prevented her from giving it much thought.

***

In the morning, Geneva tried to make as little noise as possible as she dug out the communicator she’d kicked into the closet after its collision with the wall. As Ash slept on the other side of the room, she input a short text message to her mother.I’m coming down this weekend. We need to talk.Without waiting for a potential response, she switched off the power and shoved it into the recesses of a dark shelf.

***

Geneva watched in amusement as Ash took in his surroundings on his first visit to Pasurea. He stared up, wide-eyed, at the massive building that had been her childhood home before turning around to gaze at the city skyline in the distance. Fields of short, dry grass, burnt by the two oppressive suns, surrounded them. Though he didn’t say anything, she sensed he was impressed by the property her family owned.

He turned in a slow circle a few more times until he had seen everything there was to see then followed her up the cobblestone walkway. Geneva pushed open the door to her parents’ house and let it slam behind them, knowing the noise would alert her mother to her presence. As expected, Dahlia scurried into the foyer within seconds. Her greeting was cut short when she saw the mountain of a man accompanying her daughter into her home, but she recovered from her obvious shock and plastered a tight smile on her face. “Geneva, dear, you didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend,” she said sweetly.

“This is Commander George Ashford. He’s…a very close colleague,” she replied, the overly saccharine tone an exact match to her mother’s.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Greyson. Please, call me Ash.”

Dahlia looked him over from head to toe without bothering to camouflage her actions. Finding nothing wrong with the stranger in her house, she accepted the handshake he offered. “Will yourfriendbe staying here tonight?” she asked.

“No, ma’am. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” He nodded toward the door. “I’ve made arrangements to stay in Triayda. I’ll send for a car later.”

“Very well.” She turned her attention to her daughter, but Geneva said nothing. “When I got your message and saw you had decided to visit, I invited Marcus over. He said he had other plans, but I refused take no for an answer.”

The mention of his name came at her like a punch to the stomach, but she maintained her stoic demeanor. “Oh? What time will he be arriving?”

“He’s already here, and he’s waiting for you in the other room.” Dahlia’s nose lifted in the air. “I’ll let you make the introductions.”

Ignoring the pit of nausea forming inside her, Geneva proceeded down the hallway as if she was leading her soldiers into battle and not knowing if she’d come out alive. Marcus had the same reaction as Dahlia when he saw she hadn’t come alone, but he, too, was able to conceal his surprise. “Your mother insisted I come,” he said weakly.

“I’m sure she did.”

She introduced the two men. As she watched them eye each other over clasped hands, she suspected each of them intuited the other’s intimate connection to her. They sat down in uncomfortable stiff-backed chairs, no one sure of what to say. Geneva prayed for some emergency to beckon her back to the ship or, barring a legitimate circumstance, the ability to melt into the floor.

Dahlia, always the gracious hostess, entered the room carrying a tray of food. “Ash,” she said, her cheery voice cutting through the tension, “if I had known you were coming, I could have made sure we had something you like.”

“Don’t worry about it, ma’am.” He took the plate she offered him. “I’ll eat just about anything, and after months of the food on the ship, this looks delicious.”

“I know the food you have there must be terrible, even though Geneva’s never complained about it.” She took a seat on the edge of an armchair, crossing her legs at the ankles. “There’s a lot Geneva doesn’t tell me.”

“Oh, I’m sure she would if she could find the time,” Ash answered, his perpetual grin unwavering despite Dahlia’s pointed comments. “But we’ve been so busy. It’s one thing after another in our line of work. A few months ago, we were down on this terrible planet without any of our usual high-tech weapons, and I was certainly glad Geneva had my back. See, there was this explosion…”

Geneva couldn’t decide if he was helping or hurting her cause with his vivid account of the battle on Ophari and their other responsibilities. As he painted her in a positive light, she was relieved to have some of the pressure taken off her. She kept her eyes trained on the floor as Dahlia asked all sorts of questions under the pretense of amiable conversation, yet Ash had a decisive and straightforward answer for everything.

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