Kade by Tasha Black
Aurora
Aurora surveyed the cottage with satisfaction.
Kade might think the place was small, but it hadn’t seemed so small while they were cleaning the dry food stores and eggs out of every nook and cranny.
But here they were, standing in a clean cottage, sleeping baby in the sling on Kade’s big chest, and the loose vent the racoon-monkeys had used to gain entrance safely secured against a repeat visit.
If only her stomach weren’t grumbling.
“The shops are closed, but we need food,” Kade said, as if reading her mind. “I think it’s time to meet the neighbors.”
“No way,” she said automatically. “We can go a night without a meal.”
“Why would we do that?” he asked.
She glanced over at him.
He seemed genuinely confused.
“Our neighbors didn’t fill their stores to account for us,” she reminded him.
“We can repay them in the morning when we go back to the store,” he pointed out.
“We have our pride,” she said.
“The raccoon-monkeys were hardly our fault,” Kade chuckled. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, come on.”
He was already heading out the door. She could either follow him or be left behind.
She stood, paralyzed.
He stopped and turned to her, his expression softening.
“Aurora, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t want begging to be our first introduction to the neighbors,” she said softly. “Lyra and I deserve to make our own reputations. Ones that don’t begin by shaming ourselves.”
Realization seemed to dawn in his eyes.
He moved to her, took her hands in his.
Emotions rolled over her, leaving her weak in the wake of his touch.
“Aurora,” he said softly. “I’m only beginning to understand how different life was on Terra-4 from anything I am used to. I believe you that things are different there. Will you let me tell you about Clotho?”
“Sure, but you’re not from here either,” she pointed out.
“That’s true,” he said. “But my military career has sent me all over the galaxy. All frontier communities have one thing in common. Do you know what it is?”
Aurora shook her head.
“They’re lonely,” he said.
She thought about that.
“They’ve come here to better their lives in some way,” Kade went on. “But they’ve also isolated themselves from everyone they’ve ever known.”
“Maybe that’s what they wanted,” Aurora pointed out.
“Maybe,” he agreed. “But those people would have gone out into the forest, onto the lake, and beyond. The people who settled in the village did it for a reason. They wanted company. And new faces are rare in a place like this.”
That made sense.
“Could we just go and introduce ourselves?” Aurora asked.
“Sure,” Kade said. “And if you feel comfortable once we introduce ourselves, maybe you would feel better if we offered to buy supplies from them?”
She nodded in relief. “Yes, that sounds good.”
“Come on then,” he said.
He let go of one of her hands but not the other. Something about that tugged at her heart.
She allowed herself to be led out the front door and into the little garden. In darkness, the village street was even more picturesque than before, with lights glowing warm in the windows.
“Let’s try this one,” Kade said, pointing to the cottage next to theirs.
Aurora held her breath as they walked through the strangers’ garden to the front door.
But Kade knocked with great confidence, his expression relaxed. She had a hard time imagining any situation that might intimidate the big warrior.
After a few seconds, a woman came to the door. She was older than Aurora, tall and thin. She peered at them for a moment through a pair of thick glasses.
“Oh, my word,” she said suddenly, her eyebrows up so high they disappeared into the frames of the glasses. “Franc, get out here. New neighbors are here.”
Her voice was high and nearly quivering with excitement.
Aurora suppressed the desire to smile.
“Well, Ethel, let ‘em in,” a man’s voice boomed cheerfully.
“Come in, come in,” she scolded them lightly, as if they had resisted an earlier command to enter.
“Thank you for having us,” Kade said politely.
“Hello,” Aurora managed.
The woman thumped her on the back with a strength Aurora could not have anticipated. Had Kade not been holding her hand, she might have stumbled.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” the man who must be Franc said cheerfully.
He was as short and stout as his wife was tall and thin, and he beamed up at them, tugging at his silver beard.
“Thank you,” Aurora said, following Kade and their hostess to a small living room.
Ethel indicated that they should sit on the sofa, a fluffy thing with an abundance of velvet throw pillows.
As they complied, Franc took a spot in the worn easy chair across from them.
“I’ll just get us something to eat,” Ethel called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen.
“She’s checking the newsfeed,” Franc confided as soon as she had disappeared. “She’s been addicted to the thing ever since we came here. Makes her feel connected.”
“This moon has excellent resources,” Kade replied. “Soon enough, Clotho will have its own local newsfeed.”
“Hear, hear, boy,” Franc said, lifting a glass of brown murky liquid. “Want a touch of poison?”
“Why not?” Kade said.
“And for the little lady?” Franc asked.
Aurora shook her head.
“Pity,” Franc said, hopping up to fill a glass for Kade at the little table by the fire. “But, you know, I’ll just fix you a small one. Can’t be a citizen of Clotho without trying the brogg. It’ll grow on you, my dear.”
When his back was turned, Kade squeezed her hand.
She looked up at him, and he shook his head, almost imperceptibly.
So the local brew wasn’t as good as advertised.
Again, she resisted the urge to giggle.
“Here we are,” Ethel sang out, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of steaming mugs and a plate of something that smelled delicious. “Hot tea and my famous doughnuts.”
“Let me help you with that,” Kade offered.
“No, no, sit,” she said. “You’ve got the little one.”
She placed the tray on the table, and Aurora nearly wept at the sight.
The tea was pale with milk and a small bowl of sugar and a spoon sat next to the cups. The doughnuts were enormous, glistening with a sugary glaze.
A treat like this would have been reserved for a special occasion back home.
“Thank you,” Kade said. “This looks incredible.”
Franc didn’t waste any time, grabbing the biggest doughnut from the tray and taking a large bite.
Kade served himself next, closing his eyes in ecstasy as he took the first bite.
“Incredible,” he said with his mouth full.
Ethel smiled as if he had just awarded her an intergalactic peace award. “Go on, dear, give it a try,” she said, turning to Aurora.
Aurora lifted one of the dreamy looking confections. It was heavier than she expected. Ethel watched as she took her first bite.
“Oh, wow,” Aurora moaned around the sweet, doughy mouthful.
Ethel beamed.
“So when did you two arrive?” Franc asked.
“Early this afternoon,” Kade said.
“Why didn’t you come around right away?” Ethel scolded. “We won’t even have time to tell the other neighbors. Unless you’ve already been to see the Dufresnes?”
“No, this was our first visit,” Kade said.
Ethel smiled in delight, obviously taking pleasure in being able to tell everyone else they had been visited first.
“We had a little hold up when we first arrived,” Kade added. “Or we would have stopped by sooner.”
“What happened?” Franc leaned forward, looking concerned.
“Nothing too exciting,” Kade said. “We just had to get rid of some squatters.”
“Cave people?” Ethel asked, looking scandalized.
“No, raccoon-monkeys,” Kade chuckled.
“Ha,” Franc laughed, slapping his knee.
“Dear Lord,” Ethel said. “How many of them?”
“It’s hard to say,” Aurora put in. “There were so many, and they moved so fast.”
“Did you have dry food stores sent ahead?” Franc asked knowingly.
“Yes,” Kade said.
“Yep, seen it a lot out here,” Franc said. “It’s almost like the dry grocer is in cahoots with the wild life.”
“Franc,” Ethel scolded.
“He’ll be open again tomorrow around noontime, so you can restock then,” Franc said. “Meantime we’ll bundle you up a few things to take with you.”
“That’s not necessary,” Aurora said quickly.
“It’s our pleasure, dear,” Ethel said, drawing herself up proudly. “We’re neighbors. We look out for each other.”
“Thank you,” Aurora said sincerely.
“Besides,” Ethel pointed out. “Franc’s been having a hard time cleaning out our gutters.”
“Not as young as I used to be,” Franc said, patting his belly contentedly.
“Maybe your husband can help us with that,” Ethel added.
“Oh, he’s not—” Aurora began.
“I would be glad to help,” Kade said firmly. “I’ll stop by in the morning.”
“Wonderful,” Ethel said, clasping her hands together.
“Let me just get those stores together for you,” Franc said, hoisting himself out of his chair with a grunt.
“And, let me see that adorable baby,” Ethel said, moving closer to Kade and peering at the sleeping little face in the sling. “Isn’t he an angel?”
“Her name is Lyra,” Kade said proudly.
“A lovely name for a lovely girl,” Ethel decided. “And the spitting image of her father, too. Poor mama,” she said, turning to Aurora. “Maybe the next one will look like you.”
Aurora opened her mouth to explain the situation, but suddenly Ethel leaned closer.
“You seem so familiar,” she said, eyes widening behind her glasses. “Where have I seen you before?”
Panic struck Aurora speechless.
“She gets that a lot,” Kade said quickly. “It’s her eyes, they remind people of Ryatt Hanchin, the hologram star.”
“No, that’s not it…” Ethel broke off in thought.
“Here you go,” Franc boomed out as he returned, carrying a large sack in one hand and a small bottle in the other.
“She looks familiar, Franc,” Ethel said.
“Everyone looks familiar to you,” he teased gently. “You’ve got a million too many faces swimming around in your head from staring at that news feed.”
“That’s not it,” Ethel said, narrowing her eyes at Aurora, as if that would help her figure it out.
Aurora felt her heart trying to smash out of her chest.
As if she sensed the distress, Lyra began to whimper.
“Oh, dear, the little angel,” Ethel said at once, Aurora forgotten for the moment.
“I think that’s our cue to head home,” Kade said. “I’ll see you both in the morning. And thank you for the supplies. We’ll replace them when we get to the store tomorrow.”
“Nonsense, son,” Franc said, handing the sack and bottle to Aurora. “Consider this a housewarming gift. It’s just a few days of supplies and a little bottle of something sweet for you and the missus.”
“Thank you so much,” Aurora told him, resisting the instinct to embrace the older man.
“Don’t mention it, dear,” he said kindly. “We’re glad you’re here. Good neighbors are hard to come by.”
They all bustled to the door together, saying their goodbyes.
At last, she followed Kade out through their little garden. Aurora’s breath slowed, and her heart rate evened out as the realization that everything was okay set it. She’d made it through without having to explain herself to anyone.
Now she only had to do that every day for the rest of her life on this remote moon.
“So,” Kade said, drawing the word out long and slow. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me about your life before you arrived on Clotho?”
Damn.
So much for not having to explain herself.