Page 47 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
“That you’re running away with a rich Tal bastard, yeah.”
His tone brought out the stubborn sister in her. “If you mean that I took a short-term contract to pilot a private ship, then yeah, I’m running away.”
“You have a job.”
“Yeah, shuttling our mother and tourists from one spiritually enlightening location to another.”
“It’s a good job.”
“You don’t want to chauffeur Mom around. That’s what this is,” she said. Joseph normally did cargo runs and deliveries in their smaller ship. That work wasn’t glitzy enough for Valerian, but it provided a reliable income.
He ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not it, Mari. That guy…he was going to claw out my eyes.”
“He thought you were Tomas.”
“And you’re okay with that? He just attacked. Even if it had been Tomas, that’s so not cool. He’s dangerous.”
She wanted to deny it, and she didn’t want to dwell on the feeling of satisfaction she got thinking Winter was willing to gut Tomas to defend her. It was old-fashioned, unenlightened, and absolutely perfect.
Instead, she said, “Look, I know he’s a jerk, but he’s a jerk who pays well. Now help me set the table so we can eat.”
Joseph unpacked the food containers while she set out cutlery and napkins. For a few choice moments of silence, she thought Joseph had let the subject go. Apparently not. He started, “Mom said—”
“Nothing good,” she interrupted. “He and Mom were like oil and water. Don’t believe the nasty things she says.”
“Mari, can you even picture ourmothersaying something nasty about anyone?”
True. When she discovered her last business partner had been embezzling funds for years, Valerian hugged them and guided them through a meditation to cleanse their aura. The woman did not have a vindictive bone in her body. Or a head for business.
“What did she say, exactly?” Mari asked.
He waved a hand, countering her question with one of his own. “Do you know who he is? Who he was married to?”
“Yes.” She snooped on the network and read old articles.
“He killed his wife!”
Mari made a shushing noise. Winter was in the shower, but the walls weren’t soundproof. “There was an accident. That’s hardly murder.”
“Right, and a man who just pounces on a stranger is totally rational and in control of his temper. He’d never snap and hurt someone.”
She grabbed the plates and slammed the cabinet door shut. “You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t. I can understand that after Tomas, you need to scratch an itch, but this guy is bad news, Mari.”
“It’s not that,” she said, blushing. She didn’t need to listen to her brother talking about scratching itches. “There’s a kid.”
“Oh, Marigold, are you running away to play house with this asshole?” he asked with pity in his voice.
“No! No,” she restated, forcing herself to sit calmly at the table. Dinner looked good and smelled better. Her stomach growled, and she debated how rude it would be to start eating before Winter returned.
Rude, she decided.
“He has a son, Zero. The kid is really smart and lonely, I think. They move around all the time. He doesn’t have any friends his own age. Whatever problems Winter has, he’s a good father.”
The pitying look intensified. “Oh, Sunshower Marigold Fields.”
Not good. Using the full name, or close to it, meant Joseph thought she was the saddest sack in the stars.
