The Wayfarer King (47 page)

“It’s not,” Evie said. “I would know.”

At the doorway, her father stood with his arms crossed, frowning.

“Dad,” Katie said, “would you mind if I had a little girl-to-girl chat with Evie? I’ll meet you in the cafeteria in a few minutes.”

“Sure, Sweet. I’ll see you in a bit.”

When he was gone, Katie put a loving hand on Evie’s cheek. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to snap at you. He’s concerned about you. We both are. Start by telling me about your diet.”

The smell of sawdust filled Ryder’s nostrils as he pressed the block of wood slowly and carefully against the whirring blade of the band saw. It would be a Golden Retriever this time, leaping for a Flexi-Disc. He would stain it reddish gold, then paint the little eyes black. Not that he knew what a real Golden looked like, but from the pictures he’d seen, this might be pretty close.

The blade caught the side of his claw and yanked his finger forward, just skimming the blade. Blood splattered the machine as well as his t-shirt. “Ahh! Shit.” He put his finger into his mouth, sucking on the blood and letting his saliva bathe the wound. The humming sensation in his chest started immediately, along with the familiar tightening in his throat. Gradually the tang of blood dissipated. When he examined his finger a minute later, the wound was closed. He returned to his carving, concentrating more closely on his work.

Gradually, a high-pitched beeping seeped into his consciousness. His watch. He checked the time: eleven-fifty-eight. Shit. He was going to be late.

He turned off the saw and wiped his blood off, then put his supplies into his locker. He brushed sawdust off himself as he jogged to the dormitory. Rather than waiting for the elevator, he took the steps two at a time up four flights. When he reached Evie’s apartment door, huffing from the run and sweating from the heat, he punched in his access code. The lock clicked open, and he let himself in.

The human nurse, gray-haired with sagging jowls, was asleep in the recliner with her mouth hanging open. Ryder had the urge to sneak up and scare the crap out of her. Would serve her right for sleeping when she should have been watching his daughter.

He rounded the corner to Evie’s bedroom and stopped short. Katie. He took two steps and stopped. No. She wouldn’t return the embrace. He would feel like an idiot.

The two women looked up at his entrance. Evie’s bright, jagged-tooth smile never failed to warm him with love and pride.

“Daddy,” Evie said. “Look who’s here!”

Katie stood. “Ryder, hi.”

“Hi, Pup. Yes, I see. Hello, Katie. What’s it been, two years?” Her chocolate-colored hair was longer now, past her shoulders. Still slim like her dad but womanly. Mature. Damn, she looked good.

“Not quite.” Katie took a hesitant step toward him with her arms partly raised as if she was going to hug him. Instead, she stuck out one hand. “It’s nice to see you, Ryder.”

He shook her hand, but it felt awkward and unnatural. They’d been friends. More than friends. “Ah, screw this.” He let go of her hand and wrapped her in a strong embrace. Her neck smelled faintly of lilac. Memories came flooding back to him, stirring his body. She pulled away first and smiled shyly.

He leaned down to kiss his daughter’s forehead. “How’re you feeling?”

“Sick and tired of lying here.” She reached up and brushed a few sawdust crumbs from his hair, and her gaze fell to his chest. “Goh! Dad, is that blood?”

Ryder pulled his gray t-shirt away from his chest and studied the blood spatters. “Oh. A little accident in the wood shop. Nothing to worry about, see?” He held up his finger, fully healed, for her to inspect. Aside from the misshapen claw, there was no sign of injury except a faint scar.

“What are you doing here?” he asked Katie.

“Well, I have an announcement. I’ve quit my job in Boston and moved back to Phoenix.”

Evie gaped at her, then broke into a big smile. “Really? Oh, wow. That’s knocked up.”

Katie laughed. “Knocked up? As in pregnant?”

Ryder said, “Around here, pregnant is good. Dope. Fly. Cool. It’s knocked up.”

Evie nodded enthusiastically. “So you can visit us on the weekends.”

“Better than that,” Katie said. “When my dad told me Dr. Wong retired and Dr. Hamilton was the new executive VP, I called her and begged for a job. I’m working here now. I’ll be able to see you every day.”

Now Evie squealed. “Daddy, did you hear that?”

Ryder smiled patiently. “Yep, every word. Awesome.” He had to admit he was excited about her being back for good.

“You mean knocked up?” Katie asked, grinning.

Ryder and Evie laughed.

The nurse came into the doorway. “Hello, Ryder. Didn’t hear you come in. I’ll be back in a bit with your lunch tray, Evie.”

“Get some coffee for yourself while you’re there, huh?” he called after her.

Evie chattered for a minute about things they could do together, the meals they could share, the long talks.

All the while, he watched Katie in silence. He was also thinking about things they could do together but doubted she would want to hear what he had in mind. She was here for work. That was all. Sometime between their secretive lovemaking as teenagers and her fancy degree in genetic engineering, she’d forgotten the promise they’d made to each other. He had to remind himself she wasn’t his friend any longer. She was Dr. Marsh.

“Are you planning to do experiments on my daughter?”

Katie startled. “No, Ryder, but Evie is the only sapher ever to get this far into a pregnancy. As the Center’s new reproductive scientist, it’s my job to discover what’s different about her physiology and use that information to help the other females.”

“Reproductive scientist, eh? Does that mean you’re going to be telling me who I can screw?”

“Eww, Dad!”

Katie blushed. “Determining the best genetic matches isn’t my area of expertise. I’ll be trying to solve problems in the womb.”

“Like a gynecologist or obstetrician?”

“Not quite. I’m more of a troubleshooter. When things go wrong, I advise physicians on exploratory treatments using gene and cell therapies and pharmaceuticals. Together, we sort of renovate the womb to fix problems as they arise.”

“Your job is to keep Evie pregnant until she delivers?”

“I’ll do my best.”

A thought occurred to him then. Katie could make sure his grandchild survived if she removed the embryo from Evie’s womb and implanted it in her own. He didn’t understand the science part, but it should work. After all, the Center had paid her well to be Evie’s gestational carrier. The money had covered her college tuition.

Ryder didn’t want to bring it up in front of Evie, but he’d talk to Katie about it later. If she really wanted to do her best, if she cared about Evie, she would do this.

At the end of the day, Katie logged out of the Center’s computer network, grabbed her purse and locked her office door. As she walked to the elevator, she waved at the hallway camera eyeing her silently from the corner. If someone was watching, she wanted to make a pleasant impression on her first day.

“Good night, Dr. Kate,” a male voice said through the intercom. “Will you be leaving through the basement door?”

“No, I parked in the visitor’s lot today.”

“I’ll send someone to let you out.”

Pump had already left for the day. A guard, a thick-lipped, loud-breathing fellow with sleepy eyes, met her at the security portal and let her out the front door. The way he leered at her was like a clammy hand on the back of her neck. The news crew and all but a couple of protestors had gone. The two men were standing beside their vehicles, talking. Neither looked her way when she exited the building.

Katie reached her car to find one of the tires completely flat. “Damn it,” she said under her breath. She should have moved her car as soon as she’d received the access card for the underground garage. A quick survey of the remaining tires gave her the good news: they were fine. At least she wouldn’t need a tow truck. Changing a tire in a suit and heels would surely ruin her clothes, if she could figure out how to do it.

She started digging into her purse for her roadside assistance membership card. Hopefully, it was still valid.

“Need some help?”

Startled, Katie fumbled her purse, and her compact fell out. A redhead bent to pick it up. When he straightened, she saw he was a nice-looking fellow with a square jaw and mustache. “I’ve got nothing to say,” she said, taking her compact from his hand. The mirror inside was probably shattered.

“Well then, let’s take a look at your tire.” He squatted in front of the front left tire and ran a finger over its black surface. “Looks like someone slit it.”

Katie crossed her arms. It must have been him. “What a mean thing to do.”

He looked up at her with mischievous green eyes. “It sure was. How’s your spare?”

Why was he being so nice? He was one of those rabid protestors. “You don’t need to bother with that. I have roadside assistance.”

He stood and dusted off his hands. “Yeah, but they’ll put you on hold for ten minutes, then take an hour to send someone out here. I could have it done before they even answer the phone.”

He seemed nice enough. She shouldn’t have assumed he’d been the one who’d slit her tire. “That’s awfully kind of you to offer. I’ll give you a few dollars for your trouble.”

He walked around to the trunk and motioned for her to unlock it. “No, don’t do that. I like being the gallant hero, saving damsels in distress. Taking your money would cheapen it for me.”

Katie unlocked the trunk, and the man started to fish inside for the spare tire and jack as though they’d been friends for years. She didn’t know whether to be insulted or thankful. When she pictured herself squatting in her skirt and heels, fumbling with the jack and tire, she decided his take-charge attitude was just what she needed. “Thank you, sir. I really appreciate your help.”

“Mike,” he said, extending his hand.

She shook it. “Katie.”

He removed the spare and rolled it to the front of the car. “So were you just visiting the Center?”

Crap. It figured he would broach the subject now that he had her captive. Maybe she would turn the tables on him and set a few of his misconceptions straight. “No, I’m an employee.”

He looked up in surprise. “No kidding. Let me guess: you’re an executive of some kind. Maybe a lawyer?”

Katie grinned. “What makes you say that?”

Mike looked her up and down while he loosened the lug nuts. “Because you’re too pretty to be a scientist and too well-dressed to be clerical help. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not,” she said with a teasing lilt. “I happen to be a reproductive scientist.”

He assessed her once more before returning to the lug nuts. “Well, it’s not the first time I’ve been wrong about a woman.” He fiddled with the jack and began to pump the car’s weight up off the tire.

She hated standing around not helping, but she didn’t know what else to do. Harmless conversation seemed like a reasonable alternative to getting in his way. “What do you do when you’re not saving damsels in distress or protesting outside my office?”

Mike chuckled as he pulled off the flat tire and set it on the ground beside him. “Usually working or volunteering at the pet rescue league.”

Katie gaped at him. “Really?” She didn’t often meet people who gave of themselves so readily.

“When someone dies of Molio, a pet often becomes homeless. The first thing we do is get it spayed or neutered, then try to find a new home for it.” He picked up the spare and lifted it onto the wheel.

“That’s wonderful. Are you a veterinarian?”

“No, computer systems technician at Incorp Electronics. If you’re a Center employee, why’d you park out here?”

“Today was my first day, and I didn’t have a garage access key at the time. I was practically assaulted by your Freedom friends on my way to work, I’ll have you know.”

To her surprise, Mike said, “I’m sorry. Although it’s a non-violent organization, I know some of them get a little crazy and in-your-face. I’m not one of them, don’t worry. I respect what you’re trying to accomplish, even if the means are questionable.”

Katie had to admit this smart, good-looking philanthropist intrigued her. “Why do you support Freedom for All Peoples if you don’t oppose the Center’s work?”