Chapter Fourteen
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Cam waited for her to shoot him down and tell him she’d never marry a truck-stop grease monkey. But she didn’t. She smiled so hard, tears came down her cheeks.
She launched herself in his direction. He caught her in his arms as her legs wound around his waist. She stared deeply into his eyes, lowering her lips slowly to his for a sweet kiss, then another kiss, then a deeper kiss, then another, and another. He was losing his capacity to be honorable with each electric connection their lips made.
He sat down on the foot of the bed, hugged her tight and pushed his face into her neck, stopping the glorious kissing, instead picking up the enticing scent of her perfume. She pressed her lips to his forehead then leaned her cheek against his head. They clutched each other close, as if daring the world to bother this perfect moment, rocking back and forth slightly with the sheer force of their love for each other.
Cam didn’t know how long they stayed that way, but soon enough they both realized and came to understand the reality of their situation. The longshot of ever being able to live together happily ever after was as far out of reach as it had been the moment they met.
Ria whispered, “As soon as the ship docks, I’m going straight to my mother to tell her that I can’t marry Dirt Bag. I’ll do whatever I have to do. Say whatever I have to say to change her mind.”
“I’ll go with you and help convince her.”
Ria pulled away. “No. I’ll go alone. I don’t want her to see you or say bad things to you. And she would. She can be…well, unkind when something isn’t going her way. Even if you were the perfect man, and you are, she’d still put you down, I’m afraid.”
“I don’t care.” Usually the mothers of girls he dated liked him, including Shelly’s mom. He was considered a catch in many Arkansas circles, including Alienn. He was gainfully employed. He had all his hair and all his teeth, a truly big bonus in some circles.
“Well, I care. I don’t want to subject you to her anger. And trust me, she will be furious about this.”
“Because of the money.” Cam had already met Ria’s mother and she was not impressed with him at all. This he knew for a fact. He’d always be a low-life security man in her eyes, tack on truck-stop grease monkey to that assessment and she might kidnap Ria to a far-flung galaxy to keep her away from him out of pure spite.
“Yes. And the prestige of being connected to a Technician’s family even by marriage definitely widens her social reach on Alpha-Prime.”
Cam understood exactly what she meant. He was never someone who pursued money or pretended he had more than he did. However, Shelly had wanted that kind of life, and for a while, he’d tried to give it to her. He was grateful it only took him six months to catch up on his finances once she was out of his life for good. There had been lots of overtime and several odd jobs involved to make that happen, but it had been worth it.
“If I had a bunch of money I’d offer it up, but I don’t. Maybe you should reconsider staying here with me. I’m never going to be able to give you a palace to live in.”
She looked over her shoulder at the spectacular view out the bedroom windows. “I don’t want a palace. I want to live here.” Her stubborn attitude-filled answer made him want to laugh.
“Spiders and all?” he asked.
She frowned. “I’d prefer the spiders lived outside, but yes, I want to live here. I’m even going to add a new item to my list.”
“What’s that?”
“Restore a lake view, fixer-upper cabin in the woods, of course.”
Cam grinned so hard he thought his face might split open. “I’m happy to hear that.”
“Are you?”
He nodded.
“How happy are you?” she asked in a sassy tone. Her gaze fixed on him as she started moving closer. He’d be powerless to stop her if she kissed him or hugged him or pushed him down on the bed.
“I’d have to say I’m very nearly rapturous.”
She gave his shoulders a determined shove. Cam fell backward onto the bed with her cradled in his arms. Once the bed springs stopped squealing and the bouncing ended, they stared at each other, locking equally intense gazes like there was nothing else to worry about. Like the horrid deadline they faced in less than two days didn’t matter. Like the cold, hard separation timeline looming didn’t perpetually threaten to freeze them with a big dose of reality at every turn.
Cam leaned up and kissed her tenderly. She kissed him back with a ferocity he wasn’t expecting, but enjoyed nonetheless. He certainly didn’t curb her desire in the least, although he likely should.
When Ria eventually broke the kiss, they both panted with the delicious effort. He vowed not to go too far, knowing it was an empty pledge. He wasn’t certain his previously proclaimed honor could withstand the raw, emotional and frantic sentiments swelling around them.
His communicator buzzed.
Ria made a face while Cam pulled the noisy device off his belt and answered curtly, “What?”
“It’s me,” Axel said, sounding abrupt himself. “Don’t hang up. I fully understand your current circumstances, but I need you to come to the basement facility immediately. Something has happened.”
“What?” he asked a second time, managing to moderate his tone.
“I’ll explain when you get here. Bring Ria with you.”
“Why?” Cam was careful not to say too much with Ria listening so closely.
“I finally remembered where I’ve seen her. The blue streaks in her hair don’t hide the mischievous look in her eyes, Cam. Alexandria Latham Borne is not currently aboard Royal Caldera Forte.”
“I see. Yes. You’re right, of course.” Cam’s eyes closed. He didn’t want to look as panicked as he felt with Ria staring at him. “Who else knows this…information?”
Axel made a huffing noise. “No one. I wouldn’t tattle on you, Bro. It’s not my style to rat out folks, especially not my brother. At least until I’ve heard his side of the story. And I’m certain it’s a good one. Are you on your way?”
Cam didn’t want to give up a single second with Ria. “Actually, I’d planned to come back day after tomorrow. You know, once the ship returns and docks.”
“Sorry, Bro.” Axel did sound like he hated to say it. “But you need to come in right now. It’s an emergency.”
“Tell me.”
“An Alpha woman was brought below stairs with an acute illness an hour ago. Her presence is unexpected.”
“Who is it?”
“She was too sick to speak when she arrived, but her aunt and two cousins who accompanied her said her name is Prudence.”
Prudence. Where have I heard that name before?
“Prudence?”
Ria looked at him with a question in her eyes. She clearly recognized the name.
Axel lowered his voice. “You remember, Cam. Prudence, the lady’s maid who supposedly fetched Alexandria Latham Borne from wherever she’d escaped to on Earth before the ship departed on its ten-day trip, eight days ago.
“But now I know that both Alexandria and Prudence are still on Earth. So it begs the question, who in the hellish and holy space potato storm of the century is sailing around in luxury on the Royal Caldera Forte pretending to be the two of them?” The final few words of his question were only slightly lower in tone than the level of screaming, angry baby.
Cam opened his eyes “I’ll be right there.”
“And?”
“And I’ll bring Ria along with me, of course. Do not tell anyone anything until I get there.”
“As if. You’d better hurry it up, Cam. One of the possible illnesses Gage’s med techs brought up is crust-fish fever.”
Space potato storm. “Is it…that?” Cam asked. That would be bad. Really bad. Worst-case scenario bad.
“I don’t know. No one seems to. They’ve narrowed it to that and a couple of other things. However, they are prepared to give her the first round of medicine if the green facial spots appear. But maybe it’s something simple and she’ll be on the mend soon. However, this will all be out of my control once she wakes up and is properly identified.”
“Axel.”
“What?”
“Thanks for—” he paused, not wanting to say out loud all the foolish things he’d already done in the name of love. “—you know.”
His brother sounded weary. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Just get here. Because you know that the bad news is they may have to call a quarantine to keep it from spreading. And the worse news is Prudence’s aunt, a Mrs. Virginia Westfall and one of the cousins are already showing the same signs of whatever this is.”
“We’re on our way.” Cam shut his communicator off and looked at Ria.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “It sounds serious.”
“I’m not certain where to start.”
Cam scooted off the bed and Ria followed. “Start at the beginning.”
“Your mother’s lady’s maid, Prudence, is currently in the basement medical facility very ill, unconscious, actually, with a possible case of crust-fish fever. They are standing by ready to give her the medication whenever the green spots show up, if they do. After that, she’ll be awake in no time. We need to be there before she wakes up.
“Because crust-fish fever is so highly contagious for Alphas, the word quarantine has already been used. And to make matters even worse, Prudence’s aunt, Mrs. Westfall and one of her cousins, are showing signs of whatever this is.”
“Sounds like worst-case scenario already.”
“Yep. Let’s go.”
Ria followed Cam out of the bedroom, through the living room and outside for one last quick look at the view. He had a nervous feeling in his belly for the first time since about age eight and learning what truly being in bad trouble meant.
They both got in his vehicle without a word, but once belted in, Ria asked the obvious question blaring big red warning klaxons in his head. The one Axel had already figured out. “So, wait a minute. If Prudence is in the basement with her aunt and cousins, who’s been on the Royal Caldera Forte for the past week?”
“My brother Axel and I would both like to know the answer to that question. I’ll put you down on the list at third.”
“Oh.” She looked worried.
“And my very clever brother has also finally recognized you from the picture your mother gave us.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh, yes. I knew he’d figure it out eventually, but I was hoping for much later.” Cam stopped just past the gate and hopped out to close and lock it behind the SUV.
“On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?”
“If we were strangers and I was in charge, it would be a minimum of twenty.”
“Since Axel is in charge, how much?” she said as one corner of her mouth lifted.
“Nineteen,” he said in all seriousness. “If there is an outbreak of crust-fish fever in Alienn, lots of folks will be asking why Prudence was on Earth and not on the cruise ship.”
“If she’s sick, she would have gotten sick on the cruise ship, too.”
He shook his head. “Except that all cruise liners from Alpha-Prime have built-in ventilation systems to identify infectious diseases at the earliest detection level and quash them before they become a problem. Prudence being in Alienn when she shouldn’t have been, thereby possibly infecting all of the people she’s had contact with in town with her highly contagious green-spotted rash disease, is something that could have been prevented if she’d only been where she was supposed to be.”
“Space potato storm,” Ria said under her breath.
“Exactly.”