Page 15 of Pulled By the Tail
Had he failed to notice? Was he too wrapped up in himself to hear what his brother had been trying to tell him? Probably. Selfishness and single-minded determination were flaws they shared.
He could do this, indulge Quil if that’s what his brother wanted. Having a home with a mate and kits still felt restrictive but he could be an uncle. He’d like that very much. Plus, it would take years to fill that library. His meager collection would fill a shelf, maybe two. The anticipation of hunting for books, talking with other collectors, lazy evenings reading in a comfortable chair—he selfishly wanted that.
“Three years is a good run,” Talen said. “We’ve been lucky, but our luck would run out sooner or later.”
“I knew you were a reasonable male under all the huffing and snarling,” Quil said, slapping Talen on the back.
Talen gave a low warning growl, ears twitching like an irritated male who knew he was about to be bankrupt. “I don’t have the temperament to be a host and you’re already obsessed with your violets.”
“Moon violet, and yes, that’s why I already signed up with Celestial Mates. I thought a human female would be good. Nothing says you have a successful business like a human. Stars know they’re not much good for anything but looking pretty. And the best part is that my new wife is already on her way.”
Chapter 3
Georgia
Tranquility,
Hello! I’m Georgia, your match from Celestial Mates. Writing this feels super awkward but I wanted to take the opportunity for us to get to know each other. After a few medical appointments, vaccinations, and some paperwork, I’ll be on a ship headed to Corra in three weeks.
So, five things about me.
1. My perfect date night is watching a film and staying in.
2. My favorite color is blue.
3. I’d tell you my favorite book, but I can’t pick. I’ve got a top ten, though.
4. Some people try to call me Georgie, but I do prefer to be called Georgia. Do you prefer your full name, or do you have a nickname?
5. I’m grumpy in the morning before I’ve had my coffee. I’m so not a morning person.
Care to share five things I should know about you?
—Georgia
It took six weeks from signing the contract to setting foot on a ship. First, she had to attend mandatory counseling to “identify coping strategies when making life-changing decisions.” Basically, the agency needed to know if she was crazy. Medical exams were scheduled and she had a weekly appointment for vaccines. Not fun but better than getting the Dagoba Flu or bleeding from her eyes. No joke. Eyeballs. Bleeding.
Yeah, the agency made her watch a very explicit video about alien viruses and bacteria. She’d take the needle jabs and feeling lousy for a day or two over bleeding from places not meant to bleed, thank you very much.
Between medical appointments, she had to sit through training modules about the alien cultures she’d encounter at the end of her journey. The computer tracked eye movement, so it knew when she failed to read or pay adequate attention to the video. Nothing like having the machine snitch on her. At least there wouldn’t be a quiz at the end.
Through it all, the one thing that made it tolerable was knowing that Tranquility went through the same counseling, medical exams, and education modules. The agency guaranteed that he would not welcome a disease-ridden lunatic into his home, and she had the reassurance she wouldn’t be stranded on a planet, alone with an abusive germ factory.
The moment the shuttle left Earth’s orbit and she felt the release of gravity’s grip; she knew every hoop the agency made her jump through was worth the trouble. This was everything she wanted.
Talen
The levelof satisfaction Talen gained from working on the house surprised him. He never thought of himself as mechanically inclined—that’s why he hired Charl—but he couldn’t deny the warm pleasure of having tangible results at the end of the day. His body ached. Life in the military shaped his body for a specific purpose. Manual labor used him in new ways, breaking his body down and reshaping it.
Each night, he soaked in a cool bath—the hot water boiler proved unreliable—and slept harder than he had in years, since basic training. Each morning, he got up and did it again, working through the heat of the day.
The enormous scale of the renovations the house required weighed on him. The house was simply too big for four people and they could not, without blowing through their entire budget in an instant, renovate the entire property. They had to choose, which Quil resisted but Talen enforced. Quil’s conservatory sat at the top of the project list, but it was not more important than a new roof, working plumbing, safe-to-operate appliances, and vermin-free rooms.
Talen and Charl started by cleaning out the section of the house they planned to live in. With the debris and vermin eradicated, they tackled the ancient plumbing. The house had clean water, thanks to a natural spring, but it also had leaks.
Charl understood how the guts of a house worked and spotted problem areas before they became disasters. Hot water remained a luxury with the unreliable boiler that needed to be replaced twenty years ago. In a water-damaged ledger, Quil found a reference to a hot spring and grotto on the grounds, but he had yet to locate it.
Quil’s conservatory required special high-strength, impact-resistant material for the glass panes, which ate a considerable chunk of their savings. Considering the wind speeds in the storms that Corra experienced, they would forever be replacing broken glass. It was smarter and more frugal in the long run to buy the durable material, regardless of expense.
