Page 25 of Tattle Tail
Dinner with Peaceable’s parents seemed beyond salvaging. He wasn’t impressed with Peaceable’s mother and the feeling seemed mutual. Mr. Daval had been pleasant enough, even though he seemed surprised to find Joseph waiting in the front room.
“I’m not apologizing to you,” Mrs. Daval said with a sneer.
“Not to me,” he said. What did he care that the uptight woman disliked him? Smack-talking his mom wasn’t great, but others had said worse about Valerian. But the way Tolerance spoke to her daughter, like she wasn’t worth scraping off the bottom of her shoe, made him see red. “To Peaceable.”
“I have nothing to apologize for.”
Peaceable stood next to her mother, the color drained from her face. A slight shake of her head asked him to not say what he desperately wanted to say.
Fine, although the chances of having a nice family dinner were blown all to hell.
“Peaceable is the best person I know. You should be proud of her,” he said, backing down from an argument.
The older woman sniffed. “I will see to this,” she said, taking the small pitcher from his hands. She refilled it and marched out of the kitchen, leaving Peaceable and Joseph alone.
“So…” His voice trailed off. How to tactfully mention his fake fiancé’s mother sounded like a horrible snob without pissing off his fake fiancé? Fuck it. When in doubt, make a joke. “My mother would suggest that her humors are out of balance and casting a shadow on her aura. She needs crystals to redirect her energy flow. Lots and lots of crystals.”
“I have a suggestion where she can put them,” Peaceable muttered.
Joseph nearly fell in surprise. He had never heard her say something even remotely rude. He liked it.
“What is that look for?” Peaceable asked, her tail lashing behind her and her eyes blazing with fury.
Damn, she was stunning when she was angry.
“Don’t hate me,” he said.
“But…”
“Just don’t hate me because I made you fight with your mom,” he said, being a wuss and not confessing that he found her attractive when she was upset. Or perhaps he did the decent thing and refrained from saying something creepy. Relationships were hard.
“You did not make her say such hateful things.” She practically vibrated with anger.
Joseph held out his arms. “Come here.”
“What are you doing?” Her expression was something between a glare and utter devastation. He had been on the receiving end of her annoyed glares, so it wasn’t that. It was worse, so much worse, and it made his chest ache.
“You look like you need a hug, but I don’t want to overstep any lines, so come here and let me hug you.” He waggled his hands in a come-hither gesture.
She rushed him, wrapping her arms around his middle so tightly that he groaned from the force of it. With her face buried against his chest, he rubbed her back while making soothing noises. Her shoulders moved ever so slightly, the only sign that she cried.
He wanted to protect her but didn’t know how. If they were on a ship, he’d inspect valves and check for atmosphere leaks. Every repair was an act of devotion, of caretaking. It was how his father expressed love. Joseph hadn’t realized it when he’d been a child, handing his father tools while he worked, but he understood now. Some things were better expressed by doing rather than flinging words around.
He had that itch now, to fix something. He just had no idea how to fix what was between Peaceable and her mother.
“I’m so sorry. She had no right to speak of your mother like that,” Peaceable said, her voice muffled.
“Valerian’s a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Not everyone likes her.” He never witnessed anyone call Valerian a lunatic to her face, but jerks found their courage when they were talking behind people’s backs.
“That does not make it right. Valerian is a nice person.”
“Nice, but she is pretty out there,” he said, babbling to cover up her discreet sobs. “She wasn’t always like that, you know, with the crystals and the auras. I mean, she was, but it was low-key. After my father died, it really ramped up. Her way of dealing with grief. Meditation and spiritualism don’t hurt anyone. Well, it was embarrassing, but Marigold and I were tweens and everything Mom did was embarrassing.”
During his verbal gushing, Peaceable stopped sobbing. She pulled away, wiping at her eyes.
“I’m not a fortune hunter,” he said. Of all the horrible accusations Tolerance had thrown around, that was the one he decided to tackle. Before moving to Corra, Valerian sold the family company. He invested his portion, and the annual profits were more than enough to live a comfortable life. “And I don’t have a girl in every port. I’ve dated a lot, but it’s always been one person at a time.”
“I know,” she said. Then, in a quiet voice, “I know the arrangement.”
