Salvaged Destiny

by Lynn Rae

  Fallon shot him a speculative look. “So this Del Browen—what is she like?”

  His sister-in-law’s gentle query shook Lazlo and he took a breath to gain some control over himself. “She’s wonderful, Fallon. She’s brave and strong and she works so hard for her family.”

  “You miss her.”

  Lazlo just nodded agreement, not wanting to talk and start babbling about Del. And how could he express what he was feeling when he wasn’t sure of it himself? Del insisted that their personal relationship was over, that it had been a temporary connection. Lazlo didn’t agree. Every day that passed intensified his certainty that he needed to return to her, threats from Avo Kirk notwithstanding.

  “Then you get home to her as soon as you can. Keep her safe. Protect her as your DNA commands you,” Fallon declared and scooped up a bit of creamy sauce for the baby to try. “You care about her, don’t you?”

  “I do. She’s like no one else.”

  “She’s kind to you?”

  Lazlo swallowed, feeling overwhelmed by Fallon’s soft questions prompting him to verbalize all sorts of amorphous ideas he was still coming to terms with.

  Their physical intimacies, limited and intense as they had been, were not the cause of this overwhelming impulse to be with Del. She made him happy and content just standing by his side. Her appeal wasn’t just from tangling up with him in bed.

  He knew he made her happy too, which was a wonderful responsibility. If he knew that she’d be waiting for him when he returned to Sayre, waiting to have him back in her life, he’d be overjoyed right now. Instead he was unsure and worried.

  “She is kind to me. She’s honest and funny.” Lazlo stopped, finding it hard to swallow as Fallon rubbed her baby’s back in slow circles and waited for him. Mart was listening but thankfully quiet. “She saved us out there. I made all the mistakes but she paid the price. I want to give her so much. I need to.” Because I love her.

  That thought sprang into his mind like a ship through a jump ring and he almost tipped over his chair.

  Fallon nodded and spooned up more cream sauce for the baby, who kicked with enthusiasm when she tasted it. Lazlo couldn’t help but smile even though he felt miserable inside. He loved Del and she might not ever want to see him again.

  “She sounds like a person worthy of what you can give, Lazlo. Just don’t give her flowers or chocolates. That bad fellow has ruined those gifts for a while, I think. I spotted a very nice jewelry store on the way here. You should shop there before your flight back.”

  Lazlo smiled at Fallon, appreciating her matchmaking efforts. What would Del think of a piece of jewelry? She’d be excited if it were made of some strange mineral, but otherwise he doubted she’d be impressed.

  “I don’t know about that, Fallon. She’s not really the type. But do either of you have any idea where I can get a quark spectrometer?”

  “A what?” Both Mart and Fallon looked baffled and Lazlo realized he’d have to handle that purchase on his own as he explained himself.

  “If you think she’d like a quark spectrometer, then who am I to argue? But jewelry is always appreciated,” his sister-in-law responded with an arched eyebrow as she shot a knowing look at Mart who was busy managing the dessert menu for Bets. “Bring her home with you the next time you get leave. We’d love to meet her.”

  *

  Del wasn’t tired. And that was remarkable because she had been tired every day for well over a month, working double time, sometimes triple hours. But today she’d had only one shift to complete—an easy one of supervising the washing of all the compost tubs and filtering the wastewater. Pausing at the door of Lazlo’s apartment as she always did, she finally keyed in the opencode, stepped inside to check the display for intruders and locked the door behind her. Exactly as instructed.

  One of Lazlo’s minibots came marching to her and sat up expectantly. She’d named it Silly Bill since it was the most social of his minions and the painted stripes reminded her of an old picture of a clown she’d seen once.

  “Report,” Del commanded, trying not to feel silly barking at a device the size of a coffee cup and striped bright pink and white. But Lazlo had been very specific that this particular bot responded best to loud, terse commands. He didn’t know why its audio-receptors were so particular—it was a glitch he had to work on when he had time. All this information had been conveyed according to his very detailed instructions for maintaining good security, which she pretended to resent but which were actually very comforting.

  “Electrical assessment at 2130. Data pod drop at 3009. Dee Dee Browen at 3019 with delivery of food. Datpad drop at 3897.”

  “Very good, Silly Bill. You’ve been busy today.” The pink-and-white bot did not respond since Lazlo had not installed a conversation routine yet. Again according to his extensive instructions. “Dismissed, Silly Bill.”

  At that, the little device saluted with three of its legs and crawled away to attach itself to the apartment wall display, its usual perch when it wasn’t patrolling the perimeter or randomly adjusting the light levels.

  Del looked around at the apartment. Despite her best efforts not to get comfortable here, she was starting to like it—the space, the light, the very delightful bathroom that wasn’t bilious and the kitchen that had an actual counter where she could place more than one plate at a time. But she shouldn’t like it. She needed to return to her own home because it would mean the trial was over and Avo Kirk was incarcerated where he belonged, along with Harata and his deputies. She could get back to her Outlands and leave behind all of these complicated issues like testimony and personal security and missing Lazlo. And she missed him so terribly. Her thoughts returned to him constantly, as if rubbing a splinter in her skin.

  Del had ruthlessly refused to use his bed because the memories of what they’d done there would be too hard to repress. Instead, she slept on his large blue sofa under her own quilt so she wouldn’t have to smell him. She hadn’t gone through his closet and found some piece of clothing to cuddle up with, no matter how much she wanted to.

  Dee Dee knew she was hurting, but wisely did not pry. Thinking of Dee Dee reminded her of the food her sister must have delivered earlier. Del had been forbidden from shopping for herself, so either Dee or Arturo brought by things for her to eat. She wasn’t allowed to open the door to deliverybots when she was here alone. All to keep her safe from Avo Kirk, even though he hadn’t made any sort of contact with her since Judge Titus had approved the restraining order over a week before.

  There were several parcels in the chiller—a bowl of cut-up fruit, roasted beets, mixed greens, cheeses, olives and peppers, quinoa patties, a bottle of juice and two bottles of wine. There was a loaf of bread on the counter, a bag of pistachio cookies and another bottle of wine. What did Dee Dee think she would do, drink herself into a stupor on her first evening off in weeks? This was easily twice as much food as she usually got.

  Del decided to take a long bath in Lazlo’s lovely tub. Her self-imposed separation from most of Lazlo’s furnishings hadn’t stopped her from enjoying the bathroom’s amenities. A glass of wine while she bathed would be pleasant. As she contemplated this luxury, the door chimed and Del tensed and went cold. She knew what she had to do. If it was Avo Kirk, Lazlo’s instructions had been quite clear. First confirm identity, immediately alert security and call Arturo Yee. And she was not to open the door no matter what the incentive or threat.

  The door buzzed again and Silly Bill started to march over to it but Del picked the bot up and held the quivering little thing as she went to the vid monitor to see who was there. At first, all she saw was a view of a wide chest in a dark-blue jacket, then the chest sank and she saw a man’s neck and a short beard and then Lazlo’s face. Lazlo. On Sayre.

  Knees wobbly, Del stood there for a moment, unsure if she was really seeing him or if she had gone into some sort of strange wishful-thinking fantasy. Maybe having the afternoon off was making her crazy. His very-missed voice crack
led over the vid.

  “Hi, Del. Are you going to let me in?”

  No. “Yes.”

  Trying to breathe, Del scrabbled for the high security doorcode, which meant she had to manually enter an extra sequence to get it to open. She mis-keyed it twice and cursed loudly before taking a deep breath and trying one more time.

  With a chime and a huff, the door opened and Lazlo was stepping in, a huge smile on his bearded face and his arms reaching for her. Del flung herself at him. Her breath left in a gust and then all she could feel was him, impossibly solid and with her and she didn’t know what to do next.

  Lazlo knew what to do, as he always did. He squeezed her tight, whispered in her ear that he’d missed her, that she was beautiful, that he was going to keep her safe.

  Silly Bill’s quivering and twisting in Del’s hand finally got her attention enough to move away from Lazlo, but not far. She still wanted to touch him and smell him and see him and believe the impossible that he was there.

  “Hi,” Lazlo said again, keeping hold of her waist as she placed Silly Bill on the wall where it clung and emitted loud chimes.

  “Why is it doing that?” Del asked, perplexed, somehow distracted from Lazlo’s warm presence to notice the tiny bot’s antics.

  “Oh it’s programmed to recognize me.” Lazlo turned his head and barked at the little machine. “Acknowledged!”

  Silly Bill quieted, climbing to the edge of a digima hanging on the wall to take its favorite perch, shiny little sensors whirring.

  “What are you doing here?” Del breathed as she touched his face. Lazlo kissed her fingertips whenever they strayed close to his lips and Del shivered. His whiskey-colored eyes were soft as he watched her and Del wanted to melt into his body so she’d never have to stop touching him.

  “I live here.”

  “But you’re gone,” Del stuttered, feeling foolish and happy. And entirely confused.

  “I told you I was coming back and here I am.” Lazlo looked smug, or as smug as he could while supporting her whole body as she clung to him.

  The duffle Lazlo had slung over his shoulder thumped to the floor as he shifted his grip to circle his hands to her bottom and lift her up high enough to kiss.

  His first touches were light, too light for the surge of excitement that filled Del, so she reached up to lock her arms around his neck and pull him tight for a deeper caress. His mouth opened to her and she relished every movement of his tongue and lips against her own. Yes, that was definitely him. Little tickles from his beard lit up her skin. Every molecule in her body was singing.

  “I should go.” She wondered why she’d said it as soon as the words left her mouth. Lazlo stopped his caresses with a jerk and pulled his face away from her neck to stare at her, his eyes narrowed as he frowned.

  “No you shouldn’t. Why would you leave?”

  “This is your apartment. I’m intruding.” Del kept talking, shifting her arms to push at him in an attempt to extricate herself from his tightening grip. It was like trying to escape a warm band of flexsteel. “Besides, Avo Kirk hasn’t done anything since that restraining order went through. I can go to the barracks and get a room there. There is a security bot at the door.”

  Lazlo shook his head and shifted his grip on her body to capture her hands. Del took a step back from him, feeling cold as soon as she stopped touching him. This was so difficult—to see him, taste him again, and know that she had to put distance between them.

  “Those security bots are ineffective against a determined invader. I know. I program them.”

  “I’m not sure how determined Avo is. I mean, how threatening are flowers and chocolates? I think we all overreacted to them.” By now she was standing at arm’s length from him and feeling more and more miserable the longer they touched. Lazlo took a step her way and she stumbled back into the wall, Silly Bill chiming next to her ear.

  “Del, why are you doing this?”

  “Because you’re here and I should go.” She took a breath and tried to be decisive. “Let me go.”

  Lazlo immediately dropped his hands from hers and then placed his fists on his hips as he stared at her. “Are you telling me you aren’t happy to see me?”

  “Of course I’m happy to see you. But we aren’t, this isn’t—” She broke off because he knew very well they weren’t involved with each other. They’d both agreed to that, very definitively.

  “Oh it’s that damn agreement, isn’t it? Well, I’ve decided I don’t like that agreement anymore, Delphine.”

  “Why not? It’s perfectly good.” Now she felt capable of confronting him since he wasn’t touching her and making her quivery.

  “No. It’s perfectly awful and you know it.”

  Del sucked in a breath, stunned by the frustration shaking in Lazlo’s voice. So that was it—he didn’t want to see her again. He must be here to pack up his belongings and head off to a new planet. He’d only kissed her in a reflex action.

  “Right. So you’re here to get your things. I told you I’d do that for you and ship them to your next assignment. It’s the least I can do to thank you. I know some stevedores at the dock who can help get your shipment expedited.”

  Del busied herself with thinking about the work she could do and where to get some packing boxes rather than notice how bad her chest was hurting. Stars, she wanted to cry now. If only she hadn’t been here when he arrived, she wouldn’t have to be seeing him now. Why had Dee Dee given her the afternoon off? It was the worst possible timing. But she had to push through.

  “What in Nebula’s Balls are you talking about?”

  “Trying to help you go.”

  “Why would you try to help me go when I just got here?” Lazlo shook his head again as if he couldn’t understand something. Del couldn’t think what to say in response so she just shrugged, nudging Silly Bill in the process. The bot tinkled out a pleasant chime and continued to monitor this inexplicable situation.

  “Del. Listen. I need to explain—”

  “No you don’t. I understand.” She swallowed against the lump rising in her throat. From the first, she’d known he’d leave. She’d just never thought she’d be helping him pack. “Come on, let’s decide where to start.”

  “I’m not packing anything.” Lazlo crossed his arms across his chest and tightened his lips as he stared at her. “No, that’s not true. We have lots to pack, but not here.”

  Del was confused. He had a storage unit somewhere? “Where? How much? When is your flight out?”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Del. You are.”

  “Right. I’m leaving your apartment.”

  “No you aren’t.”

  Throwing up her hands in confusion, Del stared at the man. What in the galaxy was he talking about? Maybe he’d gotten his brain scrambled in the jump. It happened.

  Lazlo sucked in a deep breath and stared at his ceiling for several seconds. “Let’s start this over again. Kiss me.”

  “What?”

  “Kiss me right now, Del, or so help me I’m going to kiss you and there’s no telling what will happen.” His eyes were dark and he looked determined, so rather than argue with a man in the throes of jump fever, she took two careful steps over to him, raised her hands to his cheeks and lowered his head so she could press her lips briefly to his. So he wanted a goodbye kiss.

  With a low sound rumbling from his throat, Lazlo swung his arms around her and pulled her tight to his chest, his mouth moving in slow, blissful pulls against her lips. She couldn’t catch her breath and her hands shook against him.

  “That’s the kind of kiss I want,” he whispered against her cheek as his hands curved around her hips and pulled her even tighter. “I want that kiss every day.”

  “Lazlo, why are you making this harder?”

  “I’m not. Listen to me, Delphine Browen. I’m not going anywhere. I requested this posting. Major Sekar used up a lot of favors to get me back here.”

  “Of all the planets, you pick Sayre?” Sh
e couldn’t believe what he was saying. It was inexplicable.

  “Don’t you want to kiss me like this every day? Touch each other like this every day?” Lazlo pulled away so he could watch her face and she felt as if she were somehow floating away, despite the very definite grip he had on her body. Del stared in his caramel eyes and felt something hard in her heart begin to melt. He had come back. She managed a small smile and he grinned in response.

  “Del, we can have meals together and talk about our days and plant a garden on the terrace. Stay with me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I love you.” Lazlo rushed the last words and looked as surprised as Del felt. Her skin flushed and her vision blurred for a moment as his words reached her soul. She stared in Lazlo’s kind brown eyes as he watched her, a slight line between his brows as he waited for her to react in some way. She shuddered in two breaths as she accepted what this man had just told her. This good and kind man who had done everything he could to protect her, encourage her, please her.

  Rising up on her toes, she reached for his mouth, catching him in a soft kiss that went on until the seismic shift in her world seemed to settle into a new landscape she couldn’t wait to explore.

  “I’m sure I love you too.”

  “So we are going to say that every day?”

  Del nodded in agreement, transfixed by how happy her Lazlo was—happy above and beyond any state she’d ever seen him.

  “There’s something else I want to do with you every day.” His lips quirked and her thoughts immediately turned to shedding clothing and finding a better location than right in front of the doorway. His hands began to smooth up and down her back and she curved against him. “I want you to help me put on my antifungals. There’s this hard-to-reach spot on my back…”

  About Lynn Rae

  Lynn Rae is a multi-published romance writer residing in central Ohio. She has professional experience in fields ranging from contract archaeology to librarianship with forays into making donuts, selling ventilation components, and teaching museum studies. Lynn Rae enjoys incorporating her quirky sense of humor and real-life adventures into her writing (except the naughty parts).