Page 12 of Pulled By the Tail
“For a guy who’s too lazy or too busy to date?”
“He wants a family and he’s upfront about it. Besides, if it doesn't work, get a divorce and come live with me.”
“But you won’t be here by then,” Georgia said. Corra was far away, like a six-month journey away. By the time she got there, Freema would already have her bags packed. Her residency ended in eight months and she’d been shopping around offers for placement on a colony. A decade practicing medicine on a colony meant total debt forgiveness. Freema had been talking about that plan for years, since their freshman year of college.
“So come with me,” Freema said with a shrug. “You can be my office manager.”
Georgia looked at Tranquility’s photo again, willing it to whisper all his secrets and tell her what to do. “I’ve never had such a difficult time making a decision.”
“It’s a big one.”
“I want to say yes. I feel like I need a fresh start, but I’m scared.”
“You’d be silly not to be a little scared,” Freema agreed.
She took a deep breath. She wanted a family but even if the worst happened and she lost her fertility to cancer, there was adoption. Her kids didn’t have to have her DNA; she’d love them with her whole heart. Could she love Tranquility? Celestial Mates thought so.
Saying yes was a risk but it felt like the right move. Plus, she had a backup plan. If the match didn’t work out, she’d go to Freema.
“Any idea where you’re headed?” she asked Freema.
“I got a few offers, but I haven’t agreed to anything yet.” Freema finished the last of her lasagna and reached for Georgia’s hand. “It’s going to work out. I have a good feeling about this.”
“Okay,” she said, all the breath leaving her body in a rush. “Okay. I want to do it.”
Talen
Welcometo your new home on Corra!
Our beautiful homeworld offers limitless opportunities for the industrious immigrant.
- Corra Immigration Affairs
The property did not appear moreattractive in person. The honey stones glowed in the morning light, which was about the only appealing feature Talen could find. When he looked at the sprawling house—more a manor, really—the inevitable and enormous heating bill, the roof in desperate need of repair, and a hundred fucking broken windows, crowded his imagination.
Quil bounded across the lawn in long strides, toward the tumbledown building, bubbling over with excitement.
In the three weeks since winning the property from Lerrence, they kept a low profile in the Terminal. Quil only played fair at cards, no hustling, Charl took the time to install necessary upgrades to the ship, and Talen splurged and booked a room for Bright. As much as he hated to admit it, Quil had been correct. Climbing up and down the ladder in the ship was too much for Bright’s aging hips and knees. If they were stuck at the station for weeks, she should at least be able to go out and enjoy all the station offered, rather than be confined to the ship.
Her silvery hair caught the morning sunlight and Talen hadn’t noticed how gray she had become. In his mind, she still towered over him with infinite strength and even more patience. Had she always been so small and slender? When had the warm amber of her complexion and hair faded to gray?
She hobbled, the arthritis in her hips and knees hindering movement. Talen held out an arm to her as they traversed the uneven ground. Bright was the first name he ever spoke and her presence formed his earlier memories. He had only a vague impression of his parents. When he thought of his mother, he thought of Bright. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her if she asked.
How long had the climbing the ladder in the ship been painful for her? She fell six months back and badly bruised her knees and hips. Luckily, she suffered no fractures. Even as Talen carried her up and down as needed, she never complained about the unfriendly accessibility of the ship. That fall had to have been the genesis of Quil’s scheme.
Quil had been correct to say that living planetside would be easier for her and it rankled him that Quil saw it first. Talen had never been one to anticipate the needs or wants of another. He was more the type who, once he had been steered toward a problem, threw himself at it with a single-minded focus until he fixed the issue, be it a faulty engine, a face that needed to be punched, or a sprawling house with broken windows.
Damn Quil.
The inside of the house proved the building to be in better condition than Talen feared. The house had not been abruptly abandoned, but closed, as if the original owners planned to return. Heavy canvas tarps protected furniture from dust and falling plaster. Water damage, vermin, and simple age damaged the majority of furnishings in the house, but he felt some could be salvaged. Delicate porcelain dishes sat stacked in cupboards, coated with a thick layer of grime but in otherwise perfect condition.
Paint peeled away from the plaster walls. A few sections were lost to moisture and mold and needed to be removed. Vermin lived in the walls. Talen could hear their little claws scrabbling about.
Portions of the floor buckled from water damage, but those boards could be replaced. The subflooring felt solid. He inspected the floor joists in the lower levels and found them to be sound.
Quil rushed them through the house, throwing open the doors to reveal room after room filled with moldering old furniture. Leaves, dirt, and other debris scattered across the floor. Animals had nested in a few closets, leaving behind bones and other filth.
The sound of claws in the walls drew Talen back. He assumed it was vermin but it could be mornclaws. The aggressive pests arrived on Corra—no one knew how but speculated that a clutch of eggs arrived with a cargo vessel—and devastated the Corravian environment. They had no natural predators, bred quickly, ate almost any animal, and slaughtered huge portions of the population.
