Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance) (15 page)

Damien's eyebrows raised at the curt and
outright rude sentences. His bot looked up at him and chirped a
question as a maintenance transit car appeared from one of the
transit tubes.

"Is there a problem?" Damien finally said,
interrupting Velda's dressing-down.

"Of course there's a problem. A stench in the
air permeating the entire block. Even Siggy can't stand it. We had
to retreat to the far side of the gardens to find clean air."
Damien groaned as Velda finished with, "Get your tight little buns
over here and fix this now!"

CHAPTER TEN

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER stink.

Vallory wasn't as bothered by the smell as
much as the others. They'd retreated to the far side of formal
gardens bordering the property of the Northstar Bed and Breakfast.
The group included Velda's little dog, Siggy. She'd settled in a
table and chairs under the shade of a large tree. Not that she
needed shade, not with the sun quickly fading.

Her lips quirked. Sun. Not here, not like on a
planet. Just a planned daytime and nighttime for each ring. She'd
heard each ring was on a different time schedule, allowing the
station to be active twenty-four hours of a day.

Her mind processed through it all while
another part focused on the information in front of her on the
computer. Plenty of time for it, if this stink was anything like
what happened at the hotels or pet show. It would eventually
dissipate and they could go back, but in the meantime, all they
could do was wait it out.

The meeting that morning had gone better than
the others. The woman, an expert on the Drax Outlier Worlds
correlated her needs with one world with a new human colony. Plenty
of land to buy up for a refuge, if she could get the grants for it.
The woman thought she would easily qualify for several, and even
offered to help.

The problem was the base temperature of the
planet. It orbited closer to the sun than the daubpup's original
home. Even in the northern latitudes, temperatures tended to get
high.

Very big issue. The daubpups did not like
heat.

Vallory rubbed her chin as she went over the
details of the planet in question and Siggy found his way over to
her. He attacked her right shoe before a big horned beetle under a
big fern caught his attention.

Problem was, go far enough north and it could
also get cold. Maybe have an outer habitat for the summer months,
and an enclosure during winter? The daubpups didn't seem to mind
living inside sometimes, but would they like it for an entire
season? The sun? Good angle, enough sunlight, too much in the
summer?

Not a perfect match to their former habitat,
to be certain. But, maybe she could figure out a way to make it
work? The microbes in the soil were similar. Similar plants,
imported by humans and said to thrive in many areas.

But they may not thrive in the northern
latitudes cool enough for at least the summer. So close, yet so
far.

Still, a better prospect than anything else so
far.

Siggy jumped to the side, then to the other,
as if expecting the beetle to attack him. The beetle's horned head
bobbed up and down. It then turned and disappeared deeper into the
ferns. The dog whine, as if disappointed.

"I thought you didn't like it," Vallory said
to him. The dog sniffed, his nose high in the air, his long purple
bangs hanging dashingly over one eye, telling her he didn't think
she knew what she was talking about. And then he broke the image of
haughtiness by tripping over his own legs and falling over as he
turned away.

"He will figure out the problem. Don't worry,"
she heard Velda tell one of the other guests. "He's the best on the
station."

She smiled involuntarily. Her Damien. Called
in by Velda to find the source of the stench that suddenly infested
the Bed and Breakfast.

Yes, he would find the problem, if a problem
could be found. If he couldn't, would he help her find a place to
sleep again? The hotel hadn't opened yet again, despite the smell
no longer there. Tomorrow, though, it should. Just one more night
to get through. Maybe this time he would invite her to a different
place to sleep?

Stupid Vallory. Not a good thing to think
about, as it led her mind into all sorts of places it shouldn't go.
It only reaffirmed her decision to find a different type of
position once she found the daubpups a home. She needed more human
companionship, to be around others. Maybe that would
help.

Or stay with the daubpups if she could find a
place for them near other humans? Where they both could have what
they need?

One sneaky part of her brain whispered to her
that she didn't want just any companionship, she wanted someone in
particular. Maybe not her brain. The voice came from deeper than
that.

Vallory muffled an exasperated sound, mad at
herself. She was driving herself crazy thinking like this. Why
couldn't she focus on only the daubpups while here? Why did someone
have to come along and distract her?

"I found the problem."

The deep voice thrilled her. Not what he said;
just the sound of it. So rich. It thrummed down into her very
core.

She looked up from the computer to find him
there in front of Velda, his adorable little bot hovering behind
him with a cart.

The eyestalks of the bot bobbed. Letting go of
the cart handle, it moved around the feet of those standing with
Velda and Damien to make its way to her. It gave a pleased and smug
chirp as it settled at her feet.

She automatically reached down to it. "You
sound just like Penny after she's gotten into trouble."

"Thank you. See, everyone? Didn't I tell you
he was the best here?" Velda said. The small crowd around her
murmured their approval. "So, we can head back now?"

"You can, although you have one less piece of
your landscaping," Damien said. From her short distance away,
Vallory could see the humor in his face, echoed by his
voice.

"Oh? Then you found out what is wrong with
this stink around the station?" one of the guests asked.

"No, unfortunately. The smell around the Bed
and Breakfast is not connected." Damien smiled down at Velda. "Next
time Daisy picks up a plant from a rummage sale, make sure she
knows exactly what it is. She picked up a Wellington
Rose."

"A what?" someone demanded even as Vallory
started giggling. She couldn't help it. It wasn't the first time
she'd heard of such a mistake.

"Oh no," Velda moaned.

"Yep, that's right," Damien said, his voice
becoming even more amused. "The infamous stink rose, and it just
started blooming. I took the initiative of having it moved to the
station botanical gardens. The air around the house is now
breathable."

Velda clapped her hands. "Then it's time to
settle in for the night. Everyone, time to head back!"

Vallory closed her research computer and
slipped it into the protective pocket in her purse. Velda went on
to thank Damien for his hard work and intelligence in finding the
problem. So many people didn't have any doubts with him at all.
Velda, the show officials, the hotel. And he didn't let them
down.

Okay, there was still the problem of the stink
she'd heard was appearing and disappearing all over the station,
but that sounded like a core station problem. It may have nothing
at all to do with life-support at all, and that was Damien's
section.

It didn't help that she loved the sound of his
voice. Just to listen to it. Having him read a book aloud would be
a sheer pleasure.

Vallory bent down to stroke the bot's top
shell to murmur, "Listen to me. Just want to listen or walk, and
then I go wanting to be taken somewhere else."

The bot gave her a whistle and a series of
chirps she found oddly comforting. As if it was trying to encourage
her and comfort at the same time.

"Taken somewhere? What a marvelous
idea!"

Vallory jerked, finding Velda standing over
her. Only, she wasn't looking at her, but had turned towards the
people still at the edge of the garden. "Damien, get yourself over
here."

Vallory tensed, her hand stilling on the bot's
top. "Oh, I was just talking to the bot, I mean, to
myself."

But, Velda paid no attention. She gestured at
Damien to hurry up, the movement setting the thin golden bracelets
to jingling against each other. "Besides, you deserve a break after
coming out so late. Don't think I don't know this is after-shift
for you."

"What is it? Another problem?" Damien asked as
he came over, his smile tired, and perhaps a little
wary?

"Oh no. Of course not. Anything else my
grandson can take care of." She took one of his hands in her own
manicured one, turning to smile down at Vallory. A nice smile, but
nothing like the glint of mischief in her eyes. Instantly, Vallory
was on guard. "Vallory was just saying something about wanting to
be taken somewhere. I think that is a lovely idea."

"Oh, really, I was just talking…"

"She just arrived at the B&B when the
uproar happened. I doubt she's eaten a bite all day." Velda nodded
knowingly at Damien. "You know how the pet show is. Especially the
exhibitors."

The edge of his mouth quirked, as if he was
suppressing a bigger smile or laugh. "Oh yes. All
business."

"Exactly! Vallory needs to eat, and so do
you."

Vallory glared at Velda. Didn't she know how
obvious she was with this? Damien's worry about Velda when he
brought her to the place now echoed through her mind. Oh yes, Velda
was out for a little match-making.

"Somewhere else?" his deep voice said from
directly over her. Straightening, she found him smiling down at
her. "I hope you mean my taking you to dinner. I'm
starving."

Wait. He fell for it?

***

Velda set him up. He knew it. It was plain and
obvious.

So, why did he go along with it?

And now, he was going out to dinner with the
one person tormenting him so badly by her very presence on the
station? Spend the evening with her, just the two of
them?

The two parts of him started warring again,
even as Damien held out a hand to help her up from her chair. He
knew the logical part of his brain lost the argument when she
flashed him a brilliant smile and said, "I would love to. Know of a
good place?"

He smiled right back, lost in her eyes.
"Absolutely."

"Wonderful. You two have fun." Velda grabbed
Siggy and stuffed him in his igloo, and disappeared. Why should she
stick around? Her work here was done.

His bot turned and grabbed the cart and sped
off with it as Damien led Vallory in a different direction. Taking
the cart back to the maintenance platform, he was sure. He was also
equally sure that it would show up later in the meal. Just so it
could get a little attention itself.

His bot loved her. She appeared to enjoy his
company. In his dreams now.

Lord, he was in trouble.

He held her hand the same way he had the night
before. His arm crooked, her's bent under his and curling over the
inside so that her soft hand lay on his forearm. He reached over to
lay his other hand over hers, capturing it there.

Held it, enjoying the sound of her voice as
she told him of her day at the pet show. No more missing pets, with
more security personnel walking through the grounds and buildings.
Even grumpy Mr. Pyman relaxed by the end of the day.

"Good. I didn't want to hear about more
accusations," Damien said as they neared the restaurant area he had
in mind. "I was ready to go to the show officials."

"I already talked to them about it," Vallory
said, wrinkling her nose. "Just to make sure they heard my side of
things in case Mr. Pyman spoke to them. He did threaten to do that.
I think he would, too."

"I'm sure he would."

She smiled up at him, her hand squeezing his
forearm. "And, how was your day."