“How can you guarantee that when you’re in another sector?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but Renny had stumped her. Even though she’d ordered her soldiers to arrest the rebels, not to kill them, she couldn’t have prevented anything from going wrong. As much as it stung to know that Rena was part of the rebellion, Cassia couldn’t bear the thought of Kane’s mother shot down in the street.
“All right, fine,” she admitted. “I can’t blame him for not wanting to take that chance with his mom. But what about the other times he passed information to the rebels?”
“Are you sure that he did?”
“No, but the evidence points to him.”
Renny shrugged. “I can’t help you there because I don’t know what happened. But I’ve seen the way Kane looks at you. I believe that boy would cut off his right arm if he thought it would make you happy.” He nudged her. “And I think you’d do the same for him.”
She stared at her hands. It wasn’t that simple.
“I want you to realize what you have,” Renny said. “The love of a good partner makes you stronger, not weaker.”
“It doesn’t always feel that way.”
“That’s because you mistake vulnerability for weakness. It doesn’t make you powerful to hide your heart. Trust me; love heightens everything decent in life. Most people are lucky to find it once. What you have is even more special because loving your best friend is the cosmic jackpot. So don’t let go of that without a fight. That’s all I’m asking.”
“That’s all you’re asking?”
“At least promise you’ll think about it.”
She hesitated. It felt like he’d dropped a boulder in her lap.
“I only pester because I care,” he added. Then he went quiet for a few beats, and when he spoke again, he seemed to have gone misty. “I don’t know if Belle and I will ever have children, or if we missed the boat on that. But if I had a daughter, I’d want her to be like you.”
His words triggered her tear ducts, because in a secret place deep inside, buried beneath years of pain and abuse, existed the ghost of a little girl who wanted to make her parents proud. That girl had nearly starved from neglect, but now she beamed to know that someone as wonderful as Renny would want her for a child.
Cassia dabbed at her eyes. “You know how to twist a girl’s arm.”
“They say I’m a pretty slick thief, too.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out her com-bracelet. “By the way, I took this from the washroom.”
“You win,” she said, and let him slip the bracelet over her hand. “I promise I’ll think about it.” She peered through a wall of tears at her captain: his long, gangly limbs; boyish hair six months overdue for a trim; glasses held together with medical tape. She was going to miss him something fierce. “And for what it’s worth, I hope you haven’t missed the boat. Any child would be lucky to have you for a father. That would be the cosmic jackpot.”
Doran groaned and slumped against an empty pallet. “I never want to smell fish again.”
“Again?” asked Solara. “I still smell it.”
He scrubbed a hand over his nose. “Yeah, me too. It’s like revenge of the tuna.” He elbowed Kane. “Am I right?”
“Uh-huh,” Kane said, only half listening. “Tuna.” He gazed across a grassy field at the Banshee’s boarding ramp, which hadn’t seen a boot in the hour since the neurologist had strolled onto the ship.
“Hey,” Doran called.
Kane glanced at him.
“I don’t think she’s coming, man.”
Neither did Kane, and that was what scared him. Cassia didn’t just love hellberry wine; she lived for it. She must really hate his face if she would rather hide in her quarters than enjoy a mug served fresh from the barrel.
“I’ll buy a bottle for her,” he said, but then he wondered if she would drink it if she knew the wine was a gift from him. She might pour the whole bottle straight down the commode. “We’ll tell her it’s from you.”
Solara looped an arm around his and led the way toward a small market beyond the warehouse. “How about this? You’ll buy a bottle for her and save it until you two make up. Then you’ll uncork it and celebrate.”
“And end up naked on someone’s lawn,” Doran added from behind.
Kane chuckled. It felt good to laugh. “First I’ll have to convince her to look at me.”
“Maybe it’ll take a while.” Solara shrugged. “Wine gets better with age, right?”
“That’s right,” Doran agreed, and delivered an encouraging punch to Kane’s shoulder. “She’ll come around. Just unleash a dollop of that greasy charm of yours. You two’ll be bickering again in no time.”
They were halfway to the winery booth when their com-links crackled with static and Cassia’s frantic voice called, “Kane!”
He whipped his head toward the Banshee and saw the neurologist running—not walking, but actually running—down the boarding ramp. Before the man had even touched the ground, the ship’s engines roared alive.