Tish ate it up, hugging him even harder, even as her attention shifted to Vallory. "Sorry to interrupt. We just wanted to say hello. We didn't realize you had company."
Ah, then that was the reason. With Vallory on the bench on the front-side of the booth, anyone coming into the restaurant would only see Damien and assume he was dining alone. Not much of a stretch, considering that often he did. When he brought the kids from soccer league with him, they usually took over one of the long tables running down the center of the restaurant, not the tinier booths.
Noticing Arthur also checking out Vallory, Damien quickly went through the introductions, "Vallory, my boss Arthur Getty, and Tish Douglas. Everyone, this is Vallory Schist, one of the pet show exhibitors. She's here with a new type of pet."
Tish grinned, reaching out to shake her hand. "How wonderful! Have you met Ignacio, Rachel's boyfriend?"
"She hasn't met Rachel, either," Damien quickly said as Vallory gave him a blank look. "She's been busy with the show and hotel evacuations."
Arthur finished shaking her hand, giving her a rueful smile. "Sorry about that. We're trying to track down the issue."
"I know. Damien has been working overtime on it," Vallory said, nodding. Saying it as if she knew all about it. As if proud of it?
"We've been so busy that I haven't had time to go to the pet show yet, and I've heard so much about it." Tish craned her neck to look up at the much taller Arthur. "Are you sure you can't have tomorrow off so you can take me?"
"Sorry, love. I need to work with Zane. He has a few ideas we need to look into."
Tish looked more than disappointed. If he had to guess, it wouldn't be very long before an announcement came from Arthur and Tish. It would be welcomed by the entire department.
Would it also be welcomed by the station?
Damien mentally shook off the question, remembering how his bot had left him as he talked to Velda to go straight for Vallory. "Tish, why don't you ask Rachel to go with you? She's still off-duty, and she's attended the show every year she's been here. With Ignacio there, I'm sure she's haunting the place."
Tish's face cleared. "That's a great idea. I'll call her tonight. Vallory, what building are you in? What sort of pets should I look for?"
Damien groaned as Vallory launched into an animated description of her daubpups. Tish's smile grew bigger as she listened.
"Wow, you are going to have a pet-hit on your hands. They sound adorable," Tish said. "Are all of them sold now?"
Vallory quickly shook her head, her smile disappearing. "They aren't for sale. Display only."
"Oh. Not that I need a pet with three bots following me everywhere. It took a lot of talking to get them to stay home tonight." Tish caught Damien's quiet stare and quickly said. "I'll come by tomorrow to see them. Hopefully you will be there and you can tell me all about them."
"I would love to." Vallory's smile returned. "I have a meeting at ten in the morning, but it shouldn't last more than an hour. Come before or after."
"Sorry to interrupt," Arthur said with a knowing smile.
Yeah, let him laugh. He found the love of his life and was moving forward on it. Damien's focal of interest would soon disappear from the station forever.
The thought depressed him, making the meal sit heavily in his stomach like a stone. The logical part of his mind started its usual, "I told you so." Something he was in no mood to hear.
But the clarity of mind brought back something else that bothered him. He leaned forward against the table as Arthur and Tish headed out of the restaurant. "Why aren't you trying to win a prize?"
She plastered herself against the back of the booth seat, as if pinned. "No reason. I just don't count on things like that."
"Vallory, don't lie to me." At his words, she clearly flinched. "It's clear you aren't trying. Why?"
"It's private." She bit at her lower lip. With a sudden movement she turned and grabbed her over-sized purse. "I need to go. Thank you for dinner."
He slipped out of the seat and slid into hers before she could slide more than a few inches. Trapped, she glared up at him. She pushed against him with her shoulder. "Let me out."
His hand traveled down her arm to pull her hand into his. Her glare didn't match the trembling in her hand. "Tell me." She stayed stubbornly silent, pushing at his shoulder again and trying to get her hand out of his. "Do you not trust me?"
Her small struggles ceased. She stared up at him, the conflict inside clearly displayed in her eyes.
"You do," he said softly, the knowledge warming him from the inside out. "Then tell me."
"You can't tell anyone," she whispered.
He nodded, hoping she would trust him with her secret. Craving it. "This is only between you and I."
She swallowed hard, giving the part of the room she could see a nervous quick searching glance. She leaned forward on the table, setting her forearms on it, mimicking Damien.
"I'm a Xenobiologist. I've worked for the last several years on Etrucia." Vallory paused, looking out into the room again.
"With the duabpups?" Damien prodded. Please, no one else come over to say hello. He was so close.
She nodded, giving him her full attention again. "There isn't a consensus that they are endangered, but I know better. Their last habitat was just destroyed. Combination of a ferocious storm hitting and industrial pollution. Long story. The group I have is the only remaining verified group. I tried to get into the endangered animal display here at the show, but it was already full, and I was having trouble convincing people they belonged there with no expert 'consensus.'"
"And so you bought a regular exhibitor space," he finished. Now it made sense.
She nodded vigorously, making her hair sway with the movement. "Took the last of my money, too. Allowed me to get here with a safe place for them while I go to meetings with experts who may be able to help me find a new habitat. And putting them on display may send the right person to me, that I might not have thought of. It's worked, too."
He sat back against the padded back of the bench. "You really aren't here for a prize."
She gave him a sad smile. "No, I'm not. And I'm not selling them. They are too valuable. There are just too few of them."
"Understandable." The last of the mystery slipped into place. Of course she wouldn't act like one of the other exhibitors in her building, because she wasn't one. "Biologist. That fits you."
A true smile appeared this time. "Thank you. I enjoy it. There's something so exciting about seeing something new that no one else ever has. I start forgetting I'm out in the field."
Which brought Damien crashing back to the ground. In the field. Still a nomad.
And he wasn't one.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHY THE SADNESS? Vallory had finally revealed her big secret, and it felt wonderful. He'd listened to carefully, appeared to understand.
And then it was like shutters closed over his eyes.
She was probably boring him again, talking about her little group. Like she did with often. Vallory helplessly shrugged. "Anyway, that's why I'm here. I have a few more meetings before the end of the show. Hopefully I'll find a place for them."
"What happens if you don't? What will happen to them and you?"
He'd asked. That meant he was interested in still talking about it, right?
She worried about what it really meant, and yet she found herself saying, "I will be fine. I can take care of myself. It's the daubpups who would be endangered…"
She meant to stop there. She really did, but Damien's attention and subtle questioning kept her going. Every time she tried to wind it down, he would set her off again.
Keeping it inside for the entire trip and then around the show officials and exhibitors had affected her more than she realized. Speaking of the worries, being totally honest and upfront felt wonderful. Lord, the exhibitors. If this got out to Mr. Pyman, he would throw a fit, no matter that she'd paid for her spot just like he did.
Damien watched her the entire time, one arm stretched out over the top of the bench back. He never let his attention stray other than to glance over his shoulder towards the front of the restaurant. She glowed with the attention.
Even better, the reserve she'd seen come over him slowly dissipated. She even managed to get him to laugh a few times. She loved his laugh. It came from deep inside him and rumbled out. A good honest laugh, her father would have said. He would have liked to meet a man like Damien.
Damien leaned forward on the table again. "What was that thought? Something made you sad."
"Thinking of my father." Vallory sipped at a glass of water. "He died a few years back. I used the last of my inheritance to get here."
"You really wiped yourself out doing this."
"My daubpups are worth it. Besides, if I didn't do it, who would? I don't believe in being an observer of life, sitting on the sidelines."
He slowly shook his head. "Are you this passionate about everything in life?"
"I would like to think so. People seem to say so a lot." She lay her napkin on the table, having neatly folded it first. "You noticed quick."
"Hard not to notice. You and Shay went at each other right from the start."
It took a moment to remember the name. Oh, right. "Your apprentice. No, I think it was more a case of him going after me. Not that I was interested."
"No, you weren't. And, you held your own well."
As he sat back against the bench and stretched out his other arm across the back of it. Clearly in no hurry to leave.
Vallory fingered the edge of the linen napkin, feeling the nap across her finger tips. "About that first day. I am sorry I was so brusk. First day here, first day for the daubpups. I was stressed."
He made a dismissive gesture with the hand laying across the top of the bench. "I assumed. Many are. For many, their pets are their children, even for the professional exhibitors."
"No. I know it's easy to dismiss, but that usually isn't me." Vallory stopped, flustered.
A slow smile warmed his face. "I think it is you. Concentrated on the moment, tuning out all else around you. The daubpups were your focus. Your passion for them showed in that moment."
She grew more flustered. How did he understand that so quickly? They'd known each other for such a short time, met only a few days ago. What else could he see about her? Did she have any secrets from him?
He tensed, his attention diverted towards the front of the restaurant. She turned to look around the bench. The restaurant was still full of diners, but the only two standing was a woman with hair piled haphazardly but pleasingly on top of her head, being guided by a man only slightly taller than the woman by his side. She was laughing up into his face in a way that made her face beautiful. The full attention he gave her gave Vallory a sharp piercing pain of yearning. She wanted that.
"Something wrong?" she asked. "They look happy."
"Rachel and Ignacio. No, wait, they are heading for a table." He turned his head back to her and smiled. "Not that I mind visiting, but tonight is about you and I."
The words warmed her even more, lighting a furnace at her very core. She reveled in it. Wanted it to continue for as long as possible.
"Isn't she the one the Naughty Knitter's Club decided to help with her love life?" Vallory asked while she struggled to find something else to talk about to keep the night going. Maybe keep them here forever.
"That's the one. She's on leave right now, recovering from injuries. The rest of us have taken up the slack. Another reason for all the overtime."
Vallory peeked out the side of the bench again. The two were seated and now laughing over the tops of their menus. "She doesn't look like she's injured. But then, one can't tell by that."
"No, not on the outside. Her lungs. She was caught in a station malfunction." She must have given him a worried look, because he added, "No, don't worry. She's fine, with no permanent damage done. Ignacio and her bots are taking good care of her. She'll be back on the job shortly."
She started to ask about which job she did, but found herself asking something else. Something that had given her nightmares. Thank goodness for the Redpoint One bots and her glowing daubpups. "What sort of malfunction?"
"Not the stink. It may be overwhelming, but it isn't dangerous. Our air quality sensors confirm it."
He wasn't telling everything. She could tell by the slight tensing around the eyes. Hiding something from her after she'd told him her big secret?
No, not going to happen.
After going through the possibilities, she chose the direct approach. Direct, just as Damien was direct. Attack the problem, fix it, move on. "Would this malfunction by any chance be a part of the station closing and shutting down with no warning?"
His entire body went rigid. Yep, she guessed right the first time.
"Where? When?" he demanded.
"The first day the pet show opened to the public. I went searching for Penny after she escaped. Escaped, apparently, to go have her baby in private." She tried to smile at him, but it was hard with him still so tense and leaning forward, every fiber of his being demanding explanation. "You were there when we returned. When there was another pet-napping?"
"Right. I remember that."
Probably remembering how the baby climbed him like a tree, stopping only when it reached his shoulder to nuzzle his neck and ear.
Vallory took a deep breath. She still didn't like to think about it. "Right. I ended up finding her in a maintenance corridor. The moment I did, that part of the station started closing off."
His arm stretched over the back of the seat moved, his hand coming to rest on her right shoulder. "Obviously you got out in time. Do you remember where this was?"
"I think so, but why? It's shut down. Even the hatch one of the maintenance bots opened to allow me to escape is closed now."
But, Damien was already on his feet. He stopped at the end of the bench and held a hand out to her. "Show me."
Not a question, not a request. An order that he clearly expected to be obeyed.
The rebellious part of her nature reared its head. While she acquiesced to taking his hand, she said pertly, "Why yes, I do believe I can show you, and you're welcome. Such a pleasant change to be asked so nicely."
One corner of his mouth twitched. "Sorry. Thank you for showing me."
"And thank you for asking so nicely," she said in a sugar-sweet tone. In her normal voice, she added, "I'm only partially sure of the direction. I was concentrating on Penny's signal at the time."
They stepped out of the restaurant onto the busy restaurant circle. Even the tables and chairs at the center were full. A bot chirped at them from its resting place next to the front of the building.
"There you are," Damien said, gesturing it forward. "I wondered when you would get here."
The bot moved between Damien and Vallory, making it hard to keep hold of Damien's arm in the way he liked to walk with her. She liked it, too, but with a laugh she adjusted it to simple hand-holding. "I think your little guy wants us both."
"So it seems." He looked up from the bot and into her eyes. Serious eyes. And worried? "Please do not go into the station maintenance corridors again alone. Not while we are having these problems."
The way he said the words sent a chill through Vallory. "I'm okay. The little red bot opened a way to get me out."
"Sometimes the bots are unable to do so when an area shuts down."
The chill became a blizzard wind across her skin, causing goosebumps to rise. This time it was her demanding answers. "Just how serious was Rachel's accident?"
"She nearly died."
Three little words, but they horrified her. Was she that close herself? What if the little repair bot arrived a few minutes later than it did? She shivered at the implications. She would have nightmares again tonight.
But a Schist didn't step back from fear. She took a firm step forward, dragging Damien after her. "Fine. Then we go find that place, and then
I want you to fix it."
He didn't offer any resistance. In a few long steps he'd caught up to walk side-by-side with her. "You assume I can fix it."
"You're one of the best maintenance engineers here. You can fix anything."
She loved his spontaneous laugh. She wanted to laugh with him, but not with the image of the door slamming shut and the lights going out replaying in her mind. Maybe revisiting the place would help her put the memory aside.
She found the wall in the industrial park easily enough. A simple touch of the wall by Damien, and it opened. All through it, he kept her talking about that day and what she'd done. How she got into the maintenance corridors. Described the small bot that saved her life.
In a way she wished he would come up with a different subject. On the other hand, it kept her moving and paying attention to their direction, and not the warmth of her hand in his.
She didn't really remember all the turns she took. Trusting her instincts, she did her best. She amazed even herself when they turned into a dead-end corridor.
There it sat. The big bulkhead door that closed on her. She shivered, looking at it, not wanting to get any closer. The door didn't feel right. It shouldn't be there. Metal-gray like some of the pipes, it obviously belonged to the station, but it shouldn't be there…
She couldn't force herself forward, staying frozen to the spot. She pointed at it with one finger and then tightened her hands into fists again. "That's it. This is where it happened."
He didn't ask her if she was sure. He merely nodded, and then lifted his wrist. A quick exchange with someone on the communication line, and then he stepped back. He took her cold fist into his warm hand and pulled her around the corner.
Just not seeing the door helped her. When he leaned back against the wall of pipes and pulled her into his arms, she willingly lay her head on his chest.
Heat radiated from him, helping to push away the little shivers going through her. He didn't try to talk. Just stood there, cradling her, letting her get control over herself.
As she did, she became ever more aware of their embrace. Did he just nuzzle the top of her head? If he had, she didn't mind a bit.
Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance) Page 11
