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Hands on her hips, Kevanne watched Chameleon snap the last shelf into place. “Perfect!” She kissed him. “The shop looks amazing. Thank you so much for helping me.” Her handyman had turned out to be quite handy. There’d been a few small hiccups, but he learned fast, and together they’d accomplished more than she ever could have on her own.
The day after the spring fling, a small surge of Internet orders from customers who hadn’t purchased at the event had come in. Cam had helped package and mail the items. Almost all of her old stock had sold.
In another stroke of good luck, the weather turned unseasonably warm and sunny, and, with the forecast predicting more of the same, she’d gotten a lot of the work done in the fields. Cam had brought a friend from the ship, Psy, to help. They planted the lavender seedlings and cleaned up fallow fields. She was pleased to discover many plants were still living and thriving.
With the most important task settled, she’d begun sprucing up the small hut that would serve as her gift shop. Cam had helped her paint and install shelves. “What’s Psy doing these days?” she asked as she stowed the tools in their case.
“We got a lead on a man who might have an airplane hangar to rent. Since everything is hush-hush, and Psy can pass for human, he went to get the particulars.”
Cam’s friend had looked and acted human at first glance; however, the more she got to know him, the less human he seemed. He had an aura of otherness. He reminded her of people who were exceptional—they didn’t quite fit with the crowd. After learning Psy could read minds, she’d been a little apprehensive, but she’d accepted Cam’s reassurance Psy wouldn’t invade her privacy. And he seemed genuinely nice, and eager to help, like Cam.
“That’s a relief. I was afraid he was hiding out because I’d worked him too hard,” she joked.
“Never.” Cam kissed her. “We both enjoyed it. Psy said last week was the best time he’d had since we landed on Earth. The others probably would have enjoyed helping also. I’m surprised they’re not going stir crazy, being cooped up. Traveling through space on a ship is different than living on one when it’s docked.”
“What do you need an airplane hangar for?”
“Mysk’s designers can build the parts faster if they have easy access to the Castaway,” he said. “Each part has to be designed, tested, and then redesigned.”
“And you can’t move the ship to Seattle, so you need a place here for Mysk’s workers.”
“Exactly.”
“Won’t the owner of the hangar think it’s strange so many people are coming and going. Your friends won’t be able to hide.” They were big on secrecy. Except for Psy, she hadn’t met any of them.
“That’s a concern,” Cam admitted. “We hope the owner lives elsewhere and doesn’t use the property. Probably it’s too much to hope for, but we need to check out the hanger possibility. If Mysk can work on the Castaway here, they can have it ready to fly in about two months. Otherwise, it will take twice as long.”
Two months? That’s all the time she’d have with Cam? Even four months was nothing!
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.” Was it selfish to hope the hangar didn’t pan out? She and Cam spent days working side by side, nights making love. They cuddled and held hands on the sofa watching TV, sometimes talking. She’d never been so happy, and she wasn’t ready to give him up yet!
When he left, she would get her heart broken, but at least this time, it would be for the right reason—because she cared for somebody deserving.
Kevanne dusted her hands on her pants. “This is enough work for today. Let’s do something for fun.” She pushed his leaving out of mind.
“Like what?”
“How about a drive around the lake?”
“I could take you on the scooter.”
Kevanne gave a little jump. “Yes! I’d love that!”
Hand in hand, they strolled back to the house. Lazy, thin clouds drifted across an otherwise clear sky. Birds sang in trees perfuming the air with pine and cedar. Wildflowers had sprung up among grasses that had greened almost overnight. With Cam at her side, and the day so warm and sunny, life seemed idyllic. She wished this moment could last forever, that she and Cam could have this kind of future.
All good things must come to an end. He’d been open and honest with her, telling her upfront he couldn’t stay. Focus on what I can control, not on what I can’t. What I can control is enjoying what I have now.
Cam squeezed her hand and peered down at her. His smile turned to an expression of concern. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She forced a smile, intending to deny the melancholy but caught herself. She’d spent her entire marriage ignoring the problems, suppressing her emotions, pretending life was normal, and she was fine. She would not repeat past mistakes. “I was feeling down about you leaving. I understand you have to—I accept that—but I’m going to miss you.”
“Ah, Kevanne.” He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She buried her face against his chest. “I don’t want to go. If I could stay, I would.” He rested his face on the top of her head. As time sped by, eating up the minutes they had left, they stood on the gravel lane and clung to each other. “Maybe I should have stayed away. I don’t want to cause you pain.”
“No!” She lifted her head. “I want to spend this time with you and have the memories.” She twisted her mouth and quipped, “It’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved all.”
She froze, her stomach dropping as she realized what she’d just admitted—to him, and to herself. I do love him. She’d fallen fast, furious, and hard.
In his eyes she saw shock but also tenderness and intense heat. “I love you, too.”
Then don’t leave me, she wanted to say, but she refused to beg. What she could do was ask for an explanation. What were the stakes? Why did he have to leave? If he’d been any other man, she might have thought he was making excuses, but she saw what lay in his heart because he wore it on his sleeve. She’d never met a man with better intentions than Cam Leon. “Why do you have to leave Earth? Why can’t you stay, Cam? I want to understand.”
A nerve ticked in his cheek, and the inner corners of his eyebrows pulled together as if he were in pain. “I would tell you if I could.”
“So you keep saying. I don’t understand the secrecy. There are other aliens on Earth, so what’s the big deal? I’m not going to tell anybody. I haven’t told a single person you’re here.”
She slipped out of his embrace as doubt crept in. Maybe he hadn’t told the truth. Maybe he wasn’t leaving, or he had a wife on his home planet. With experience and therapy, she’d thought she’d become more discerning, but she didn’t have a good track record with men. She hadn’t always been a good judge of character; she’d been too accepting, too trusting. Had she fallen into that trap this time, too? Everything had happened so fast.
Or was second-guessing herself part of the problem? Dayton hadn’t made her wary of others, he’d caused her to distrust herself.
“I helped refugees escape a planet under destruction. I have to ensure they aren’t captured.”
Refugees? A planet destroyed? It was about the wildest story she’d ever heard, akin to the old pickup line, I’m a surgeon/airline pilot/CIA operative, and if I told you any more I’d have to kill you. Except Cam wasn’t some lounge lizard in a bar seeking to get laid. He was an honest-to-goodness extraterrestrial. Nothing was more incredible than him turning from a billboard model into a big blue alien with a tail! If that was possible, so was his story.
It didn’t explain everything, but then she had her secrets, too. Or used to. She’d pretty much shared everything about her past life with Dayton with him. Maybe overshared. It was amazing the weight of her emotional baggage hadn’t sent him running for the hills.
Or maybe he was leaving because she had too many issues.
Stop it! Get off the crazy train! If anything proved she was still a work in progress, this did. Cam had told her he loved her, and, in a couple of short mental hops, she’d begun doubting him and herself.
She touched his arm. “I don’t mean to pressure you or doubt you. It’s...I’m going to miss you terribly when you leave.”
“I’m going to miss you, too,” he said. “I miss you already. I think about leaving you, and it tears me up inside.” He grabbed her and hugged her as if his life depended on it. His arms banded around her, squeezing so tight she could hardly breathe. His heart banged against her ear. His exotic smell filled her nose.
And then he raised her chin, and his mouth slammed against hers. Their tongues lashed, teeth clacked, and there was no holding back. He crushed her against his body, his hard-on rigid against her stomach. He squeezed her ass, roaming his hands over her back and shoulders.
When her feet lifted off the ground, she hooked her heels around his hips. He carried her to the house, the ride around the lake forgotten.
He slammed the door, set her on her feet, and they tore at their clothes. When they were naked, she flew at him with a desperation to make every second count, to pack in as much living and loving as she could in the remaining time.
“I love you,” he said against her mouth.
“I love you.” She dragged her hands over his body, following up with kisses, touching every inch. “I need you. Now. Can’t wait.”
He lifted her up against the wall. With a single thrust, he entered her. She cried out at the suddenness, the almost painful stretching, but he filled her, leaving no room for doubts or shadows. They were together now, and it was enough. He loved her. She loved him. No promises, except the moment was the promise. Their explosive union felt like a pact. If they couldn’t be together forever in time, they would be together in spirit. Her orgasm struck hard and fast, rolling through with a ferocity that would have knocked her to her knees if he hadn’t been supporting her.
From the living room, they stumbled into the bedroom, fell upon the bed, and made love slowly, gently, another pact, a recommitment to now. Now was for living and loving; regrets could come later.
Afterward, she curled up next to him, her leg thrown across his thigh, her head pillowed on his chest. He pressed a kiss to her damp hair. “You want to take that spin on the scooter around the lake?”
She shook her head. “I’d rather spend the rest of the afternoon doing this.”
“I hoped you’d say that.”
“Maybe tomorrow though?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
